Army can help clean lakes: CM

DEC. 7. The Chief Minister, Mr. S.M. Krishna, said on Friday that the Government was ready to utilise the expertise of the armed forces, which removed water hyacinth from the Ulsoor Lake, for similar operations in other tanks in Bangalore, which had been polluted by sewage.

He was speaking at the Armed Forces Flag Day organised by the Department of Sainik Welfare and Resettlement at the Raj Bhavan. Earlier, he unveiled the Declaration of Duties (``Sankalpa'') to be observed by the personnel. He presented ex-gratia cheques to the next of kin of soldiers killed in Jammu and Kashmir and north-eastern States while fighting terrorists.

Earlier, three retired senior officers of the armed forces -- Admiral O.S. Dawson, Lt. Gen. N.S. Narahari, and Air Vice-Marshal S. Rangaswamy -- urged the Chief Minister to make use of retired officers and personnel from the armed forces, who were endowed with technical and managerial expertise in constructing roads and patrolling coastal areas.

They also appealed to the Government to nominate retired officers to various elected bodies such as the Rajya Sabha, the legislature, the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP), zilla panchayats, and important policy-making committees, so that their knowledge could be made use of.

Mr. Krishna thanked the MEG for cleaning the Ulsoor Lake, and requested the armed forces to help rejuvenate such other water bodies. He directed the BMP Commissioner, Mr. Ashok Dalwai to coordinate such ventures. The Chief Minister said the Government would engage the services of experienced armed forces personnel in the ``Bangalore Forward'' campaign launched by it sometime ago. Mr. Krishna regretted the low turnout of youths at the recruitment of personnel for the three armed forces. He said it was due to their easy-going nature, and added that there was a need to change their attitude.

He politely rejected the suggestion for involving ex-servicemen in government projects.

The Governor, Ms. V.S. Rama Devi, presented the Flag Day incentive awards to deputy commissioners and deputy directors of the Department of Sainik Welfare from the districts, for their efforts in the sale of flags. Belgaum District, which achieved the highest collection for the fourth consecutive year, was given the rolling shield.

Paying rich tributes to armed forces personnel engaged in the ``low-intensity war'' in Jammu and Kashmir and north-eastern States, Ms. Rama Devi said soldiers were fighting in areas such as Siachen in adverse conditions. They had endeared themselves to the people by their devotion to their country, she added.

Mr. C.M. Uthiah, Director of Sainik Welfare and Resettlement, welcomed the gathering. Mr. M.B. Prakash, Additional Chief Secretary, presented a memento to Ms. Vijayalakshmi Sundaram who led a choir of children from an Army school. The function was attended by retired and serving senior officers of the armed forces and the Government.

Admiral O.S. Dawson (retd.), former Chief of the Indian Navy, presenting a memento to an inmate of the Red Cross Home at the Armed Forces Flag Day in Bangalore on Friday.