Another Defence unit in the offing in Balasore

The Pioneer, BHUBANESWAR ,November 8, 2008

Balasore district is likely to see another defence unit in the near future near Amarda (Basta) as the Army is seeking a patch of land for the purpose. A requisition for identification of 1,000 acres of land has come to the district administration from the State Government’s concerned department for setting up the Army unit.The Government’s letter said that the unit’s location should be at Amarda at the British-time airfield at Rasgobindapur, which has been lying unused since several years. The unit is supposed to have facilities of road and rail links but not to be too close to the township.

A delegate of the Army has already met Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik with the proposal and apprised him of the requirements, which has been approved. It is, however, not clear as to what type of Army institution is being planned. The patch of land is required at Amarda because of the existing airstrip and land of over 100 acres belonging to the DRDO.The Army desires to set up the unit here since Orissa has only a few defence establishments. The Army would develop the area as well the periphery as per requirements, it is mentioned in the letter. This unit would be another one in Balasore district, where several key defence establishments and installations, including the century-old PXE and missile testing range of DRDO are located.

The letter has been further sent to the tehsildar of Basta for compliance. “As per the need of the Army and instruction from the State Government, the letter has been forwarded to the Basta tehsildar,” said reliable sources.The British constructed the Amarda airfield of nearly 2,000 yards at Rasgobindapur around 1940 during the Second World War to meet the threat of Japanese attack from their Myanmar base.