Gaya, Feb. 9: In a last-ditch effort the activists of Army Services Corps Centre Struggling Committee (ASCSC) filed a public interest litigation (PIL) in Patna High Court to stop the ASC centre from being shifted to Bangalore from Gaya.
The protesters took out a torchlight procession from Azad Park to Tower Chowk. ASCSC, that has been spearheading the agitation for sometime to put pressure on the defence ministry, has also called for a Gaya bandh on Thursday, ASCSC convener Vijay Kumar Mithu told The Telegraph.
A source said Union defence minister A.K. Antony as well as his predecessor George Fernandes had assured the centre would not be shifted. But the process has already started.
Equipment of training battalion I have already been taken to Bangalore. The equipment of training battalions II, III and IV will soon be transferred. By April, the records office and the accounts office would also move to their new home. The reason for shifting the ASC centre was to merge the motor transport and animal transport sections, through which food and supplies are made available to soldiers deputed in border zones. Since the motor transport is in Bangalore, the ASC centre is being shifted there.
However, protesters are demanding that the motor transport section be shifted to Gaya instead, as Karnataka already has six army centres. There are only two army centres in Bihar, including the one at Gaya. The other one is the Bihar Regimental Centre in Danapur. The centre in Gaya was set up in 1976, on the initiative of former defence minister Babu Jagjivan Ram.
Ranjeet Kumar Verma, a chemistry teacher at Magadh University, told The Telegraph: “Shifting the centre will have serious economic repercussions. Around 5,000 soldiers are posted at the centre and they are paid a total of Rs 12 crore to Rs 15 crore as salary. Half the amount is spent in local markets. The sudden shift will affect the business community.” Also, the centre served as a recruitment centre for youths of the state. The shift would affect the recruitment process as well.
