It was a day of celebration for thousands of army veterans who showed up in large numbers despite rains to listen to General Dalbir Singh, Chief of Army Staff, who spoke at rally on his first visit here.
The army chief also paid a visit to the memorial park for late Field Marshal KM Cariappa, O.B.E and 'Sunny Side’, the abode of late General KS Thimayya, DSO. Speaking later at the rally, General Singh promised to allot tanks and other possible war trophies for the memorial park.
Addressing veterans, the chief said the army had plans to build regional veteran hospitals in place of empaneled hospitals, which he said were found to be submitting falsified bills. “We have proposed to make 10 regional hospitals out of which 4-5 have been cleared and the rest will follow.” He also said that there was no shortage of funds for veterans, but it was the delivery and procurement mechanisms that had to be fine tuned.
General Singh also spoke about a tie-up with the National Skills Ministry where teams from the ministry would visit army units and provide certification for eligible army staff. “We have identified many skill sets which can be certified and will help those who retire get jobs in companies and PSU sector,” he said.
On the issue of One Rank One Pension, he said that a judicial commission which is set to visit 20 locations to interact with ex-service men will begin with its first visit to Chandigarh next week.
A man full of energy
Reminiscing about his time spent with Field Marshal Cariappa, General Singh said that he had many occasions to have lunch with the famous officer during his stay in Bengaluru when he was a Captain in the 80's. “One day, while visiting Vidhana Soudha, I offered to help him climb the steps and he refused saying don't help me even if I fall. Such was his energy,” General Singh said.
Praising the district for having sent so many recruits to the army as well as several senior officers, he accepted the request for a recruitment rally and said that it would be held in the district next year.
