Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on December 18 shot off a letter to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh registering a strong protest against the Centres decision to shut down the Officers Training Academy (OTA) situated in Gaya.
In the letter, Mr. Kumar said he came across the news of proposed closure of the OTA, Gaya, in some newspapers and digital media.
The Chief Minister, whose JD(U) is an alliance partner of the BJP, termed the development as “shocking and very disturbing”.
The OTA, Gaya, which was set up in 2011, “not only provided employment opportunities in the region but also contributed towards economy and sense of security in the area”, he added.
“It would be very inappropriate to close the Officers Training Academy at Gaya. This wrong decision by Ministry of Defence is against the states interest and it would be a gross injustice to the people of Bihar,” Mr. Kumar added.
Gaya OTA Army cadets likely to train at Dehradun IMA
A senior military official said on December 18 that Army cadets training at the OTA in Gaya are likely to be shifted to the Indian Military Academy (IMA) in Dehradun and the vacated space might become the Sikh Light Infantry Regimental Centre soon.
“The space vacated by the cadets at OTA Gaya will be occupied by the Sikh LI [Light Infantry] Regimental Centre which is currently co-located with the Rajput Regimental Centre at Fatehgarh in Uttar Pradesh,” the military official added.
