The Central Command's torch relay, which began on March 2 from Bareilly to mark 50 glorious years of its service to the nation, was flagged in here this morning by Indian Miltary Academy Commandant Lt Gen Manvendra Singh.
Flagging in the torch relay at the Rashtriya Indian Military College, Lt Gen Singh described the Central Command as the heart and soul of the Indian Army.
"Central Command plays a vital role in providing logistics and training to the Indian Army. 90 per cent of infantry training centres of the Army are under Central Command.
"Hence, it would not be exaggeration to say that Central Command is as vital to the Indian Army as the sun is to sustain life on earth," Singh said.
The torch relay is part of the Central Command's 5,000-km run spanning Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Odisha to mark its golden jubilee year.
Apart from Dehradun, the torch relay has to cover places like Pithoragarh, Ranikhet, Joshimath, Landsdown, Raiwala and Roorkee in the hill state.
On the occasion, the Central Command also honoured 40 ex-servicemen and widows or mothers of command personnel who died during Army operations.
The torch relay, which has been undertaken with the aim of meeting ex-service personnel and knowing their problems, will conclude at Command headquarters in Lucknow on May 1.
