BANGALORE: The Special Forces (SF) commandos here are left in the lurch. They don’t have a place for parachute refresher training—a must-do-dare-devil-exercise, also known as para-jumps. The Indian Army says it have identified an area at Hoskote Kere on the outskirts of the city and written to Karnataka government (read as several times) seeking its permission to notify 505 acres of land for special training. The army says the area provides an ideal ground for safe landing, with the soil being smooth and able to absorb the jump impact.
The exercise (either a jump or drop) is performed from a chopper, AN-32 or IL-76. In a free-fall jump, a paratrooper comes down at great speeds with severe g-force with the the chute opening at one particular height (HALO: High Altitue Low Opening). In the second option, the chute opens the moment a paratrooper is dropped (HAHO: High Altitue High Opening).
The 2 Para Regiment (Special Forces) was allotted Bangalore post-26/11. Bangalore also houses the army’s Parachute Regimental Training Centre. In 2010, the 2 Para SF set up its base in Hebbal, with little details known about its operations.
Documents with The Sunday Standard show that the army first wrote to the state government in May 2010, requesting permission for utilising the land at Hoskote Kere for four weeks in a year (one week in a quarter). The army also gave an undertaking in writing that no permanent assets would be built there. “In the same letter, the army wanted the area notified to avoid high-rise buildings and towers coming up in the vicinity, which might endanger the lives of paratroopers,” sources said.
The bureaucratic wrangles in the state government shook the army a bit, considering its premier force had to wait for a long time for an exercise meant to equip its men in the event of a terror strike. The paratroopers finally were given the nod to perform their jumps between October 27-29 in 2010 with the Rural District Collector granting permission in a letter dated 20.10. 2010.
In 2011, the army again wrote to the state government for a repeat exercise, but this time (so far) no permission came forth. This forced the paratroopers to be airlifted to Agra so that they didn’t miss their schedules. Now, an irked army is planning to take up the matter with the state government one more time, wanting a permanent solution to their demand.
LET THE ARMY NOT LOSE HEART: The Karnataka government is in no mood to drag its feet into yet another controversy with a battalion of woes already chasing them. When this paper sought the state’s version to army’s plea for a safe drop zone (DZ) for its paratroopers in Hoskote Kere, a senior government official wanted the army not to lose heart. He also felt that had the army put a well-oiled follow-up mechanism in place, a different story could have unfolded.
“We have never backed out of our responsibilities in supporting our armed forces. We keep getting request from the IAF, CRPF, Navy and many more from time to time. We recently allotted land to CRPF in Belgaum. We are ready to help and take decisions above the board when in comes to our defence forces,” the official said.
“Let them not lose heart and be patient. The said land in Hoskote is a dried tank bed and there are court rulings in notifying them. I am sure that the local people in the area would benefit if an army unit comes up there. The economy of the region would also improve,” he added.
With none from local army units wanting to comment, sources in the army directly dealing with the 2 Para (SF) told this paper that the matter had already reached them. “When the permission was getting delayed in Bangalore, we directed the local units (Bangalore) to do a recce of an area in Thoranagallu (Bellary). But, they found the land not suitable for jump with rough pebbles all over. We don’t want our soldiers to bleed during training, but sweat hard,” the official said.
He said para jumps at Hoskote Kere would be a tremendous motivating factor for the local youth and would also project the role of Indian Army in Karnataka. “It would act as deterrence to any evil designs, in addition to reducing the burden on the exchequer in moving the personnel from Bangalore to Agra and back,” the official added.
