Cadets at Indian Military Academy to sport masks, keep distance at passing out parade

The decision has come barely days after the IMA administration had informed that as a precautionary step for the safety of the cadets and IMA staff, parents of cadets would not be allowed to attend the ceremony at the academy this year.

 

Dehradun(Agencies): The POP which will be held on June 13, will see a total of 423 GCs passing out from the academy, including 333 from India and 90 from friendly foreign nations.

In a first, the Gentleman Cadets (GC) will be wearing masks as a precautionary measure while participating in the ceremonial parade during the upcoming Passing Out Parade (POP) event of the Indian Military Academy (IMA) on June 13, IMA officials said on Monday.

The development has come days after the IMA administration had informed that as a precautionary measure for the safety of the GCs and IMA staff, the parents of the cadets would not be allowed to attend the POP at the academy.

Lt Col Amit Dagar, public relations officer, IMA said, “Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, this time the IMA has introduced many changes in the POP as per the Centre’s guidelines. Among that, one is wearing of facemasks by the GCs during the parade. They will also be maintaining more distance than usual from one another during the parade in full adherence to the guidelines.”

Lt Col Dagar also informed that there would also be some changes in the Pipping Ceremony following the parade during which the GCs celebrate and get their stars put on their shoulders by their parents as a symbol of becoming an army officer.

 “This time as their parents and dear ones won’t be able to attend the event; their instructors at the academy along with their wives will be playing the role of their parents and putting the stars on their shoulders. However, they will not be able to celebrate by hugging each other and singing during the Pipping Ceremony due to social distancing,” he said.

The IMA official also added, “This time as the parents won’t be able to attend the ceremony, we have requested the media to cover it extensively so that the family members of the GCs could witness their wards passing out as Indian Army officers.”

The POP which will be held on June 13, will see a total of 423 GCs passing out from the academy, including 333 from India and 90 from friendly foreign nations.