NCC to raise equestrian squadron

Air Cdre S S Deshpande, Deputy Director General of NCC Directorate (Karnataka and Goa), told Deccan Herald that the squadron, the first of its kind in the Directorate, would be raised in Sanguem district in Goa.

The centre will have as many as 13 trained horses, and enrol 200 cadets comprising girls and junior and senior division boys from Goa and surrounding places, he said.

The squadron would have a commanding officer under the charge of Group Commander (Belgaum).

“The main aim of the centre is to train cadets in horse riding and imparting knowledge on veterinary aspects,” said Deshpande. Apart from the enrolled candidates, NCC batches selected to camp in the Goa region will be taken to the centre for an exposure, he said.

The centre has been approved by the Director General, NCC, and the State Administration. “The planning is at an advanced stage and we hope to start equitation training in two years’ time,” Deshpande said. Horses for training will be provided by the army, he said, adding there are a total of 17 R&V squadrons in the country.

There are long-term plans of having more microlight aircraft and air squadrons in Karnataka, Deshpande said.

There are a total of 73,820 cadets in the NCC Directorate of Karnataka and Goa and as many as 4,000 cadets belong to Goa. The Directorate has expansion plans and will enrol 20,000 additional cadets in five years. New NCC battalions would be raised in North Bangalore, Chitradurga, Haveri, Ramanagara, Chikkaballapur, Koppal and Mandya.