The Hindu : Karnataka News : Army warns Govt. about arms smugglers

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Dec 10, 2004

Karnataka

Karnataka

Army warns Govt. about arms smugglers

By Our Staff Reporter

BANGALORE, DEC. 9. Coastal Karnataka and Bangalore are vulnerable areas with the increasing probability of intense smuggling of arms, ammunition, explosives and narcotics, Major General Paramjit Singh, General Officer Commanding of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala Area, has said.

He was speaking at the inaugural session of the annual Civil-Military Liaison Conference here today.

The conference, which is a stocktaking exercise between the State Government and the military, highlighted the many areas in which they have worked in harmony. It was projected as a forerunner for initiatives to resolve a few contentious issues such as the restoration of Defence lands being used by the State Government.

Maj. Gen. Paramjit Singh said that while the sizeable number of Army, Navy and Air Force establishments in Karnataka were reasonably well-protected, there was need to keep a close and covert surveillance on the fundamentalist and communal organisations that were increasing their presence in the State. The migrant population, foreigners and student communities from Jammu and Kashmir and the North-east were potential problem groups, he said.

Maj. Gen. Singh said there was a need to keep a watch on students from certain countries who settled here. Criminal elements buying large tracts of land along the coastal area should be monitored, as the nexus between criminal and communal elements seemed to be increasing.

Maj. Gen. Singh said sensitive establishments of military value needed to be guarded against subversion, sabotage and suicide strikes. He noted that Bangalore was a popular destination for many non-domiciled servicemen who wanted to make it their home. The State was extending facilities, including reserved seats for the wards of service personnel in educational institutions, he said.

He urged the State Government to adopt a sympathetic attitude to the problems of Defence personnel. The last two years had seen the launch of welfare schemes for ex-service men, widows and dependents, he said.

The Agriculture Minister, K. Srinivasa Gowda, who inaugurated the conference, said he expected the closed-door session to come up with specific solutions to festering issues, mainly the possession of the land on which the Karnataka State Cricket Association stadium stands and the adjoining plot where the Police Wireless Headquarters is housed.

Tax concession

Mr. Srinivasa Gowda, who represented the Chief Minister, N. Dharam Singh, who was to have inaugurated the conference, said he was aware that senior Defence officers were concerned over the withdrawal of sales tax concessions on goods bought through CSD (Canteen Stores Department) outlets. He would ask the Chief Minister to consider a plea to exempt service personnel, ex-service men and widows from payment of property tax, he added.

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