JAGATSINGHPUR: The appointment of Lt Gen Chandi Prasad Mohanty, AVSM, VSM, SM as the General Officer Commanding in-chief, Southern Command has brought heer among people of the district.
A native of Jayabada village in Jagatsinghpur Municipality, Lt Gen Mohanty’s father was a Government employee and mother a professor in Odia at SVM College. While one of his brothers, Kali Prasad Mohanty is a General Manager in Panipat Refinery, the other Devi Prasad Mohanty is an advocate.
Lt Gen Mohanty studied up to to class VI at Bagashai UP School and became the first Odia to take admission in Rashtriya Indian Military College (RIMC), Dehradun. Later, he joined the National Defence Academy (NDA) and was commissioned in the Rajput Regiment as a second lieutenant.
The senior officer took charge as GoC in-c of Southern Command from Lt Gen SK Saini. He was earlier posted as the General Officer Commanding of Uttar Bharat area. Lt Gen Mohanty has operational experience along the borders with Pakistan and China. He has also been active in counter-insurgency operations in Assam and had led a multinational UN brigade in Congo.
Lt Gen Mohanty visits his village in December every year. Last year, he interacted with locals and visited Sarala and Jagannath temples.Local legislator Prasant Muduli expressed his wishes to the officer on behalf of all people of the district. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had taken to Twitter to congratulate Lt Gen Mohanty on his new appointment. “Congratulate Army officer from #Odisha, Lt Gen C.P. Mohanty on being appointed as Southern Command Chief. Best wishes for his new responsibility”, he had said on his Twitter handle on Friday.