General officer commanding Lt Gen. Deepak Kapoor offers a salute after laying a wreath at Vijay Smarak. Picture by Pranab Biswas

Siliguri, Nov. 1: It was a mixture of solemnity and celebrations as the army?s 33 Corps, otherwise known as the Trishakti Corps, observed its 45th Raising Day today.

The Corps came into being in 1960 at Shillong under the leadership of Lt-Gen. Umrao Singh and subsequently moved to Sukna near here.

Tributes marked the first part of the day?s functions, when the general officer commanding, Lt-Gen. Deepak Kapoor, laid a wreath on behalf of the officers and jawans at Vijay Samarak, a memorial to the martyrs of the Corps. The memorial was erected in 2000 as a tribute to those killed in Operation Cactus Lily during the Bangladesh Liberation War.

The GOC-in-C, Eastern Command, Lt-Gen. J.S. Varma, arrived from Fort William to take part in the celebrations.