Kolkata :

One of the oldest static formations of the Indian Army in the eastern region, Headquarter Bengal Area, celebrated its 122nd Raising Day in Kolkata on Tuesday. What makes this formation extremely crucial for civilians is that it liaisons with the West Bengal and Bihar governments for activities such as disaster relief, rescue efforts during natural calamities and deployment of troops to curb violence.

Lt Gen Rajeev Tewari, general officer commanding, Bengal Area, addressed all ranks of the formation at a special sainik sammelan and conveyed his greetings.

Bengal Area Headquarter was raised as Bengal Command at Fort William on March 1, 1895, by Lt Gen Sir WK Ells. It moved to its present location at 246, AJC Bose Road from Bengdubi in north Bengal in September 1995. Bengal Area participated with distinction during World War-II, the Sino-Indian conflict of 1962 and Indo-Pak War of 1971. Besides operational war time task, the formation also supports the logistics requirements of fighting formations and units of the Eastern Command in war and peace.

It is also the ‘local military authority’ acting as a link between the state government and the Army besides being the custodian of the ‘Maidan’ area and all Army land around Kolkata.

“With growing need of the military in combating natural disasters as well as man-made calamities, the importance of the formation has gone up by leaps and bounds. It also provides necessary assistance to the Eastern Command in maintaining bases in parts of south Bengal and bordering areas of Bihar,” an officer said.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Kolkata / by Jayanth Gupta / March 01st, 2016