Army Chief meets Badal, Defence Unversity proposal mooted

Chandigarh, Aug 9 (UNI) During his two-day visit to the city, the Chief of Army Staff, General JJ Singh today met Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal and discussed the establishement of National Defence University in Punjab.

During the meeting the Chief Minister expressed his keenness for establishing the University in the state and offered his assistance for immediate commencement of work in this regard.

On the matter of low cost housing for the soldiers, the Chief Minister agreed to support the project and also expressed his willingness to support other army assisted development projects .

The CM was keen that recruitment from Punjab into army should be facilitated by creating training infrastructure in the state. He also sought army's assistance in development of roads and other infrastructure and even in developing educational projects.

In the meeting, the Army Chief discussed issues relating to the welfare of soldiers and ex-servicemen with Mr Badal.

General JJ Singh also interacted with Punjab Governor General (Retd) SF Rodrigues.

General Singh, who is accompanied by his wife Ms Anupama Singh during this visit, is due to retire on September 30, 2007 after a meritorious service of 43 years in the Indian Army.

Tomorrow, General JJ Singh will pay homage to the martyrs at the Veer Smriti followed by an address to all officers of Chandimandir station before his departure for Shimla.

UNI