KOLKATA: Army-to-Army ties between India and Bangladesh are no longer restricted to joint training exercises, visits by military delegations and their families. As part of the initiative, five children with special needs along with their educators from ' Proyash ' in Bangladesh are now visiting Kolkata on an invitation from the Indian Army The team is led by Col Md Shahidul Alam of the Bangladesh Army and will be here till Thursday.'Proyash' is an organisation in Bangladesh that values the holistic development of all children with special educational needs through multidimensional programmes and is functioning under the patronage of the Bangladesh Army since July 2006On Monday, the delegation visited ASHA School Kolkata where Veena Naravane, regional president, AWWA, Eastern Command, interacted with the children and teachers and presented mementos and gifts.ASHA is also a school for differently-abled children in Kolkata that came into existence on July 1, 1991 with the aim to provide a combined curriculum of education and therapy as well as counseling and rehabilitation. It's aim is to ensure an overall development of differently-abled children of defence personnel (both combatants and civilians) to make them self-dependent and contributing members of society. Eastern Command runs the school under the patronage of the regional president, AWWA and it has been doing a commendable job in this field."The team from Bangladesh will be visiting the Indian Institute of Cerebral Palsy (IICP), Amrit Somani Memorial Centre (ASMC) and places of tourist interest like the Zoological Garden, and the Victoria Memorial among others. Visits of this nature, involving the younger generation, will go a long way in further cementing the bonds of friendship between the two countries," a senior officer said.

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