Army rues lack of facilities at recent recruitment rally

The Army has blamed the civic administration for not doing enough to provide drinking water and toilet facilities to about 15,000 youth who attended the soldier recruitment rally held here between October 15 and 24.

Brigadier P.S. Bajwa, Deputy Director General, Headquarters Recruiting Zone, told journalists on Saturday that the “basic amenities somehow went missing.” But the Army had the “wherewithal to make up” for the deficiency. Colonel P.R. Ravikumar, Director, Army Recruiting Office, Thiruvananthapuram, said the planning progress for the rally had commenced in August. He had held meetings with the District Collector and the Additional District Magistrate. The Army has now appraised the Chief Secretary of the matter.

The civic administration made a minimal supply of water at certain points. But the token supply did not suffice to meet the demand.

Moreover, toilets were in short supply for candidates who had arrived to participate in the rally from Ernakulam, Idukki, Alappuzha, Pathanamthitta, Kollam, and Kottayam districts other than Thiruvanan thapuram. The Army said 2,000 candidates had cleared the initial screening process. As many as 1,000 of them were deemed physically and medically fit. The rest 1,000 were referred to military and naval hospitals in the State for further evaluation by specialists.