''Vijayant'' installed at Barrackpore Cantonment Board

Barrackpore, Aug 25 (UNI) Defence authorities here today installed a decommissioned tank permanently for public view at the entrance of the Army Brigade at Barrackpore Cantonment.

The ''Vijayant'', tank which made a glorious contribution to the 1971 War against Pakistan in the Eastern front, had been decommissioned in 1996 and placed at the crossing of Surendranath Banerjee Road and Brigade Road opposite the North Gate of Mangal Pandey Udyan (Lat Bagan).

The then General Officer commanding -in-chiet Eastern Command Lt General S Vaidya had ceremonially inaugurated Vijayant after which it was left almost unattended for many years at the Artillery Regiment camp.

Defence sources said Vijayant was built indigenously according to a British design and commissioned in the Armoured tilery Regiment of the Indian Army in 1960.

Station Commander of Barrackpore Army Brigade Brigadier Boby Mathews along with senior army officer and chief executive officer of the Barrackpore Cantonment Board K Nagy Reddy were present on the occasion.

Mr Reddy said the country's oldest cantonment board had taken the initiative to instal a memorabilia for visitors to mark the 150th year of the First War of Indian Independence on the suggestion of Defence authorities.

UNI