Ordnance corps personnel at a sack race during Raising Day celebrations. A Telegraph picture

The Sherwani Paltan of the Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry Regiment celebrated its 59th Raising Day on April 15. The unit was raised in Srinagar by Lt Col Amar Singh on the same day in 1948 from a core group of volunteers of National Home Guards from the Anantnag and Baramulla districts of the region. Led by Janabe Mohammad Maqbool Sherwani, the volunteers had warded off the Pakistani raiders advancing towards Srinagar in October 1947. Sherwani died in the battle and the battalion was named after him. It currently forms a part of the Scimitar Division of the Trishakti Corps stationed here.

Since inception, the battalion has had a long history of combat experience, including Operation Cactus Lilly, Operation Rachna, Operation Meghdoot and Operation Rakshak-I. It was also part of a UN peace keeping force in Somalia.

The three-day Raising Day celebrations, which started from April 13, included Pagal Gymkhana, Bara Khana, and a special Sainik Sammelan.

lAnar Zorawar Singh, wife of Maj. Gen. Zorawar Singh (retd), recently visited Army Nursery School, Bengdubi, and was warmly received by the principal and teachers. The students, on their part, entertained the guests with a programme.

Singh, in her address to the school, advised the children to actively participate in extra curricular activities. At the end of the day, prizes were given to all the participants.

lThe Army Ordnance Corps celebrated its 232nd Raising Day on April 8. One of the first army units to be raised by the British in India, the corps has the responsibility of providing the army with a vast array of items ranging from the mundane pin to the mighty tank, from complex communication systems to munitions and missiles.

The raising day celebrations included traditional events like Pagal Gymkhana and Bara Khana, held in the presence of all troops and civilian employees of the corps along with their families. Lt Gen. C.K.S. Sabu, VSM, GOC Trishakti Corps, attended a social function organised on the occasion.

lSchoolchildren from 13 states of eastern India participated in a science fair held recently at Birla Industrial and Technological Museum, Calcutta. Naveen Agarwal, a Class XI science student of Army School, Bengdubi, won a special prize at the fair for his model on industrial photosynthesis.

The simplicity and high level of workability of the model impressed the judges. One of two exhibits from Bengal, it found a place among the 33 models that were awarded the special prize.