BANGALORE: Major General K S Venugopal took over as General Officer Commanding (GOC), Karnataka and Kerala Sub-Area, on Friday. He succeeded Major General A K Pradhan, who moved to the Infantry School in Mhow as Deputy Commandant and Chief Instructor.Speaking to the media, Venugopal said he would strengthen the military-civil relationship, as the first step. “There are concerns with land grab cases, and we are bound to protect every inch of the Ministry of Defence land. Bangalore has been traditionally a Cantonment area away from the buzzing town activities. Now the towns have grown and have come in close contact with Cantonment, resulting in encroachments on Army land,” Venugopal said.Saying that the quality of life of serving soldiers, their families and enhancement of welfare of ex-Servicemen were among his priorities, Venugopal said he had already taken stock of the problems being faced by the K&K Sub-Area. “We have married accommodation project taking shape in the next two-three years. Around one lakh dwelling units are coming up for the soldiers. Funding (` 2,500 crore) for a one-time maintenance and repair of buildings is also in the pipeline,” he said. He said the state government promised support to 2 Para (Special Forces) for a safe Drop Zone for para-jumps. Express recently reported on the plight of 2 Para Special Forces, who found it difficult to undertake their regular para-drops in Karnataka. “We are following it up with the state government and hope the Special Forces will get land in Hoskote for their mission,” Pradhan said.
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