Composite NCC unit to come up in Lakshadweep

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:  If things go as planned, the country’s first composite NCC unit would come up in the Lakshadweep Islands, doubling the cadet strength in the picturesque Union Territory (UT).Unlike conventional NCC units, the composite unit would integrate Army’s and Navy’s aspects in training. “It’s a new concept. We have sought the consent of the Lakshadweep administration for setting up the unit,” Brigadier Sandeep Kumar, Deputy Director General, NCC Kerala and Lakshadweep Directorate, said.“There is a Junior Division Naval unit with 600 cadets in the islands at present. “The strength would go up to approximately 1,200 under the composite unit,” he said. The existing junior division is spread over seven educational institutions, mostly government-run schools, in places such as Kavaratti, Amini, Minicoy and Androth. In the composite unit, cadets would be attached to separate Army and Navy units, and would undergo training separately in service-specific subjects. But they would come together for critical aspects of training like drills, firing, disaster management classes and integration camps.In Kerala too, the 73,000-strong Kerala and Lakshadweep NCC Directorate is planning to increase its cadet strength in line with a central policy to launch units in remote or distressed areas. The number of NCC groups would go up from five to six in Kerala with the NCC proposing to bifurcate the NCC group headquartered in Kozhikode.“At present, the Kozhikode group covers Kozhikode, Palakkad, Malappuram, Wayanad, Kannur and Kasargod. Kannur, Kasargod and part of Wayanad would come under the proposed Kannur group.