The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Vellore complex Army's bid to reach out to ex-servicemen

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Nov 16, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Vellore complex Army's bid to reach out to ex-servicemen

Special Correspondent

It will house a canteen, a community hall and medical clinics

Gen. Paramjit Singh

CHENNAI: An ex-servicemen complex, a sports complex and an ecological garden on the Island Grounds, besides a series of welfare measures for ex-servicemen, are among the projects completed by the Army's local Area Command in the past few years.

The Rs.2.3-crore ex-servicemen complex at Vellore is an attempt to reach out to ex-soldiers. The General Officer Commanding, who presided over the development efforts, Paramjit Singh, leaves Chennai after a two-and-a-half-year stint. "... the finest moment was when I went to Vellore and laid the foundation stone for the ex-servicemen complex ... coming up on five acres, which the Chief Minister very kindly gave to the Army at low rates," Major General Singh said in his farewell press conference.

The complex that will house a canteen, a community hall and medical clinics is the first such integrated facility for ex-servicemen in the country. It will be ready in 16 months.

In Tirumala, the foundation for a guesthouse was laid on November 14. The project is likely to be completed by November 2006.

With its experience in handling the December 2004 tsunami, the Army was prepared for the floods in October: it flew down boats, distributed food packets to the affected and assisted the civil authorities when it was called to do so.

"The day it rained over here, ... a special aircraft flew in with 10 boats with OBMs... And we got in touch with the State Government," he said.

There was only one battalion stationed in Chennai.

Asked whether more troops should be stationed in the south, he said there were constraints. "The biggest hurdle is training areas... We locate troops in a manner that meets both requirements... the training requirements and the internal security duty requirements."

Asked why Goa was removed from the Area Command comprising Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, Gen. Singh said it followed a readjustment of the Area Command. "The [ATNKK &G] Area was too large... And in the Maharahtsra and Gujarat Area, the workload was slightly less. So that is how the proposal came up."

The General said he received an "excellent cooperation" from the State Government.

New GOC

B. Sivasankar will take over as General Officer Commanding of the Andhra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala Area on November 17 from Gen. Singh, who has been posted as Chief of Staff, Western Command.

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