The celebrations that began with the historic ‘Regatta’ at the picturesque Ulsoor Lake on Thursday, concluded with a ceremonial parade being held at the Govindaswamy Drill Square at the MEG and Centre. Call of the bugles, horse drawn carriages, and immaculately dressed soldiers took part in the parade that forms one of the finest regiments of the Indian Army.
Six contingents of smartly dressed soldiers, with blue Dooptas on their heads, gold and maroon coloured jari bands on their waists and spotless white spats on their boots, marched proudly to the tunes of the pipes and drums.
Colonel Commandant of the Madras Engineer Group (MEG), Maj General Brajesh Kumar who spoke to the media after the parade, said a biennial Regimental Commander’s Conference (BRCC) was organised as a part of the anniversary celebrations.
Dwelling on the rehabilitation efforts for the ex-sappers, he said the Centre also extends a helping hand to the families of those Madras Sappers who have laid down their lives in the service of the nation.
“We have a fully functional rehabilition cell, where all attempts to provide gainful employment to these families along with retired personnel is done. To this end, our focus has shifted from mere security services to other vocations also. Being from the engineers, all our men are trained in the technical field too,” he said.
Maj Gen Kumar said MEG had started interacting with the construction industry and the environment to obtain employment in other vocations also. “With this, we hope that the nation also benefits from this highly sincere, disciplined skilled and experienced pool of work force, which is available”, he added.
