Tamil Nadu - Udhagamandalam   

Army recruitment rally begins in Udhagamandalam

— Photo: D. Radhakrishnan

To serve the country: Aspirants lining up at an army recruitment rally in Udhagamandalam on Saturday.

Udhagamandalam: Hundreds of youth from various parts of Tamil Nadu aspiring to join the Indian Army thronged the Government Arts College ground here on Saturday.

The open army recruitment rally, which will go on till December 14, is organised under the aegis of the Headquarters Recruiting Zone, Chennai.

On the opening day, the documents of the aspirants were verified and their physical measurements taken. The defence personnel were assisted by the local police.

An officer said that most of the aspirants were from Madurai and the others had come from Krishnagiri, Dindigul, Salem, Theni, Dharmapuri, Coimbatore, Erode, Namakkal and the Nilgiris. Enquiries made by The Hindu revealed that many among the aspirants had attended similar rallies conducted elsewhere earlier.

Due to certain shortcomings they had failed to make it. Exuding confidence, they said that though the bitter chillness was a source of concern they would go all out to impress the recruiting officers.

Declaring ‘I will make it this time’, M.Govindaraj of Kadathur near Dharmapuri said that since his chest measurement had let him down earlier, he had undergone special training over the last three months to meet the requirements.

Among those who had been part of the special coaching were some of his friends who had also unsuccessfully participated in earlier rallies.

He said that he had always nurtured a desire to be part of the Indian Army and after becoming a jawan he would complete his college studies through distance education.

Expressing the hope that he would be lucky this time, R.Sivapandian of Theni, said that earlier he had tried to become part of the Tamil Nadu police and also attended an army recruitment rally.

He had failed in theory though he had done well in the physical tests.

“I have always been fascinated with the uniformed services,” he added.

An official said that the aspirants had been asked to be wary of touts and agents. The selection would be based only on merit.

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