Bharadwaj: Goodbye

Ranchi, March 24: Outgoing General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the 23 Infantry Division Major General Dalip Bharadwaj today assured his boys that the road situated inside the Dipatoli cantonment, connecting Booti More and Tatisylvai, would be acquired by the army soon.

Addressing the jawans for the last time in this ?best? station, Bharadwaj (in picture by Ashok Karan) said the army had already talked to the civil administration and the project would be completed soon.

?After joining the division 21 months back, I took up this endeavour of making the military station look like one. For this, apart from constructing gates, keeping the station clean and other aspects, I also worked on acquiring the road. Talks with the administration is in the final leg and we have also decided that a different bypass to connect Booti More and Tatisylvai would be constructed for the civilian population,? said Bharadwaj.

Apart from that, there are several development projects, which have been taken up for the jawans, he said.

?One of the major issues that has been solved is providing drinking water to the jawans. A sum of Rs 48 lakh will be spent this year for providing drinking water to the family quarters of the EME unit. Talks have also been initiated with the deputy commissioner to sink five tubewells in the area,? said Bharadwaj.

Work on the war memorial, being constructed at a cost of Rs 2 crore, will be completed by December, the GOC maintained, adding that he hoped a programme could be organised at the next raising day function.

Talking on the goals that he set after joining the division, Bharadwaj explained that he focussed on three things ? keeping the station ready for any sort of operation, keeping a mobilisation plan ready in case of emergency and improve the quality of life inside the station.

He, however, had one complaint, which was the poor performance of the jawans in the different sports events.

?The division has not been able to become champions in any discipline for the last two years. They have been bagging either the second or third place. But I would like my division to become the champions. Hire expert coaches, undertake the necessary training for becoming the best and practise every evening in your respective units,? he urged.

Apart from that, the GOC also hammered in the point of keeping the station clean. ?By saying clean, I do not only mean proper hygiene but also different aspects like saying no polybags, having a proper drainage system and many others,? he added.

Bharadwaj will leave the station on March 28 for Mau in Uttar Pradesh.