Be prepared for attacks like Pathankot, says Army chief General Dalbir Singh

Chief of Army Staff General Dalbir Singh, who was on a visit to Pune, cautioned all ranks of the Southern Command to be prepared to deal with terror acts like the one at Pathankot. He reviewed the security and operations scenario of the Command and expressed satisfaction with the level of preparedness.

General Singh visited the Southern Command headquarter on Wednesday. On Tuesday, he was the chief guest at the concluding ceremony of the Multinational Field Exercise.

“General Dalbir Singh later was briefed on the operational and administrative situation by Lt Gen Bipin Rawat, GOC-in-C of the Southern Command and other senior officers. He expressed satisfaction on the performance so far and general preparedness. He complimented the Command for the timely and spirited response to natural calamities like the Gujarat and Chennai floods and exhorted everyone to be similarly prepared for any eventuality and respond to it in a soldierly manner. He cautioned all ranks to be prepared to deal with terror acts like the one at Pathankot,” a press statement issued by the Defence PRO said.

Earlier on Wednesday, General Singh laid a wreath at the city’s National War Memorial to pay homage to martyrs. He later visited the Southern Command War Museum, where he interacted with veteran soldiers and enquired about their views on the ongoing projects for ex-servicemen.

The press statement further said, “General officer’s wife Namita Suhag, who is accompanying him, visited the Family Welfare Centre and was deeply appreciative of Project Protasahan, a women empowerment initiative undertaken by Southern Command. While interacting with the families of jawans, she was eager to get a firsthand account of the various welfare schemes at Pune and informed them about the ongoing initiatives by Central AWWA to empower the families and encouragement and support for the girl child.”

In an important housing initiative for soldiers in the city, General Dalbir Singh inaugurated a welfare housing project at Wagholi. Pune is home to two more housing projects, one at Salunke Vihar and the other at Hadapsar.