In a surprise move the Southern Command, Pune, has directed 118 Infantry Battalion Territorial Army (TA) to vacate the Sitabuldi Fort and move its base to Bhusawal with immediate effect. Calling the move quite shocking, Retired Territorial Army Personnel Association said, TA is being ousted to make way for Sub Area HQ, known as UMANG. They said that for UMANG Kamptee cantonment area was most suitable and ample land is readily available with Army for the same or to Bhusawal also where several buildings are vacant.

 

 

With relocation of UMANG to city from Mumbai, the officials of former evinced interest in Sitabuldi Fort that was identified with 118 TA battalion that has completed 80 years of its existence. It was established in year 1939 and became known as Nagpur Terriers and ex-personnel said it is shocking to learn about the order of Southern Command.

UMANG was provided temporary accommodation at Sitabuldi Fort as land was being scouted for them. However, the pristine surroundings of fort seem to have enticed the Army officials who now are keen to set permanent base and hence TA is being moved out of Nagpur, they opined.

 

Since UMANG was provided temporary accommodation, Sitabuldi Fort becomes out of bound for civilians and the occasional education trip on weekend was stopped by Army personnel. Now, Nagpurians would rarely get a chance to take a peek into inside of Fort and efforts to hand it to civilian control now stands diminished.

The ex-personnel also questioned the haste on part of senior Army authorities as 118 TA is given deadline of October 30 to wind up its establishment at Sitabuldi Fort. Such a short time it seems is deliberate as senior officials knew that local politicians would be busy in electioneering and hence nobody would interfere in their order, the retired personnel claimed further.

 

They said the move to evict 118 TA is also loss for youths of Vidarbha as in future the recruitment rallies would be shifted to Bhusawal. In effect for youth of region it would be a denial of opportunity to server in Army.

Recalling their contributions in 1962, 1965, 1975 wards and Kargil War, the veterans said, they had toiled hard to turn this bare rock feature of the Fort to a green island that all see today.

 

Soldiers from 118 TA are deputed for operational duties to Jammu & Kashmir every three years and they also respond in time of natural calamities like floods and earthquakes etc. In city also the TA personnel

had played active role in rescuing trapped person in aftermath of collapse of a cold storage building in Kalamna area sometimes back.

 

The Association has been active and wrote to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Union Minister Nitin Gadkari seeking their intervention to stall shifting of TA battalion. The decision to shift the TA battalion to Bhusaval is completely irrational and sans logic as only in emergency such orders are issued.

 

However, the current move of Southern Command is more of administrative nature but such short period is bound to disrupt TA officers and jawans and their families to a great extent. The Army authorities could have shifted any one of the TA Bn to Bhusawal like 116 from Nasik, Territorial Army Training School from Nasik or Ecological from Aurangabad.

 

Inter alia any one detachment of TA units could be shifted to Bhusawal Defence, like 101 Infantry Bn of Pune TA, 109 INF Bn of Kolhapur TA, 116 INF Bn of Nasik or 118 INF of Nagpur TA.

The Association has appealed to citizens to Nagpur to join them in opposing the move of the Army to relocate 118 TA Bn to Bhusaval as it would be a major loss of employment opportunity for future generations of the region.