Salvation Army Capt. Srikant Bhatnagar and his wife, Indrani, who oversaw the Salvation Army program in Vicksburg for five years, are leaving for Washington, D.C., Bhatnagar said Monday.

“The Lord calls us, we’ve got to do what we’ve got to do,” he said. “God called us to set up here for a time, (and) we’ve finished our time. God knows better what the next assignment is for us.”

The Bhatnagars will be in Vicksburg until June 19, when they leave to take command of the Salvation Army’s Sherman Avenue Corps in Washington. They will be replaced by Salvation Army Majors Steve and Mary Welsh, who are being assigned to Vicksburg from Selma, Ala.

“We appreciate the time Capt. B spent with us, and naturally, we hate to see him go, but we understand they move after a period of time,” said Danny Jones, Salvation Army Board chairman. “I’ve enjoyed working with him. He’s done a lot of good things in the community and we will be welcoming the new person who comes to serve in his place.”

Michele Connelly, the director of United Way of West Central Mississippi, said Bhatnagar was a great inspiration for her.

“He was always involved in the community and was always interested in working with children and giving them every opportunity to be successful.

“He was good leader and thought outside the box when it came to programs, and was always looking to help the community. He was a wonderful person and he’ll be missed.”

“We will miss him, his leadership and his dedication to the children and to the community,” said volunteer Trudy Jones. “We wish him well, and we look forward to our new leaders. He was an energetic person and his heart was with the youth. He could work with youth and he always felt he can change things.”

The Bhatnagars came to Vicksburg from New Orleans in June 2011, just as the waters from the spring 2011 Mississippi flood began receding and replaced Herb and JoAnn Frazier.

Soon after arriving, they became involved helping some of the 3,200 people displaced by the flood at the Salvation Army’s flood recovery headquarters at the former Blackburn Motor Co. building on Washington Street.

Bhatnagar came to the United States from India in 1994. His wife moved to the United States from India in 2002, and the couple married in 2007.