Dehra Dun : To the strains of ‘auld lang syne’, 615 gentlemen cadets of the Indian Military Academy will enter the portals of the halloed Chetwode Hall from the drill square to become officers of the Indian Army on Saturday morning, after the passing out parade.
The coveted sword of honour for the best all round cadet will be given to AUO Karan Kothari. The gold medal for standing first in order of merit goes to Abhijeet Singh, silver medal to Abhijeet Chandra and bronze medal to Amit Bejwal. The Chief of Army Staff Banner will be taken by Ramandeep Singh for Karen Company.
An alert has been sounded for the passing out parade by the central and state intelligence authorities and strict security arrangements have been put in place this year not only by the army authorities but the district administration also.
As the chief guest for the parade this year is the Sri Lankan army chief Lt Gen Jagat Jaisurya, it is not under the scanner of ultras, but there are rears that it could also be on the hit list of the LTTE.
Though there is no no nodule of the LTTE in the Doon Valley, but informed sources said that when there was an International Mayors’ Conference in Dehra Dun in Dehra Dun, headquarters of Uttarakhand, in 2007 and the mayor from Colombo also attended it, then too, the LTTE had given a threat.
A journalist with over 40 years of experience, Jagdish Bhatt was Editor, Hill Post (Uttarakhand).
Jagdish had worked with India’s leading English dailies, which include Times of India, Indian Express, Pioneer and several other reputed publications. A highly acclaimed journalist, he was a recipient of many awards
Jagdish Bhatt, aged 72, breathed his last on 28th August 2021 at his Dehradun residence.