SHILLONG: “One of the districts from Garo Hills of Meghalaya has not been adequately covered by the National Cadet Corps (NCC) due to its remoteness and lack of education institutions while otherwise Meghalaya has been adequately covered. There are other areas in the North East region which needed be covered properly,” NCC Director General, Lt. Gen. Vinod Vashisht, said here on Tuesday.
Informing this Vashisht said that NCC so far had covered the 108 districts in the North East region except 7-8 Districts but NCC officers were reaching out to those areas where adequate attention had not been given so far.
He, however, maintained that the NCC needed more training areas in Meghalaya and the matter had been taken up with the State Government.
Asserting that the NCC is making best efforts to reach out to different areas of the North East despite its remotes and security situation, he added that the NCCs mission was to be ready all the time to attend to the call of service to the nation and natural disaster was a part of it.
“NCC cadets are trained for such purpose and they can always render a helping hand in such situations,” he said.
Vashisht said that the present strength of the NCC in the country was around eighty-nine thousand and the numbers will exceed one lakh by the year 2020.
According to Vashisht, the equipment in the naval units of the NCC located in Sivasagar and Guwahati are being replaced with new ones besides new aircrafts are also being bought for the air units of the NCC which is located in Guwahati and other parts of the region. “Flying will commence in two months’ time after the monsoon,” he said.
When asked how the NCC cadets can be protected from anti-social elements operating in different states of the region, he said that the NCC would link the cadets with national integration and feeling of patriotism.
Stressing on the need to develop good education institutions in the region for expansion of NCC, the NCC chief added that having NCC in curriculums of schools and colleges was a matter of choice for the State Governments.
“49 colleges in the country have taken the initiative of having NCC as elective subjects in last two years,” he said.
He also said that the books were ready and it was up to the State Governments as to when they wanted to take up the exercise.