Army alert over Sino-Indian border

Lucknow, May 2 (IANS) The Indian Army is alert to security issues on the Sino-Indian border, a top commander said Wednesday.

Referring to China as a 'competitor', Lt. Gen. Anil Chait, the new head of the Lucknow-based Central Command, said the command was 'aware of the security issues on the border and would like to assure the people that the Indian Army was prepared for the security and defence of the nation'.

It was Gen Chait's first media interaction.

Asked if the army was also ready to take on Maoist guerrillas, he said if it was asked to do so, 'the army was ready to do what was expected of it'.

But 'such a situation has not arisen', he said.

He said the charter to fight Maoists lay with the home ministry and the army was at the periphery, socially networking and rehabilitating alienated people.

On the command's role during emergencies and natural calamities, Chait said 200 columns were always ready to give assistance to state governments in rescue operations.

The Central Command, which covers Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand, is celebrating its golden jubilee.