Under project Suvidha Sadan, a Sainik Aramghar for the benefit of ex-servicemen and their families was inaugurated by Mrs Lizy Jacob, Principal Secretary, Government of Kerala at Military Hospital, Pangode. The main aim of the scheme is to provide shelter to the ex-servicemen and their dependents who come here from far away places for treatment at Military Hospital. This long-felt need was fulfilled by the initiative of Lt Gen GS Sihota, Chief of Southern Army Command and Maj Gen AS Jamwal, GOC, ATNKK & G Area.

A package of new welfare schemes for the ex-servicemen was also announced by Col BLT Joseph, Commanding Officer, Military Hospital at the function. Project Sahayog-Assured Decent Last Rites Scheme provides all assistance to the families of ex-servicemen on their demise while Palm Grove Widows Welfare Scheme ensures financial assistance to the needy widows of servicemen/
ex-servicemen.

Lt Gen SK Pillai (Retd) also attended the function besides other senior serving and retired officers.

Maj Gen (Mrs) P K Sethi, Additional Director General, Military Nursing Service, Army HQs, recently visited Military Hospital at Allahabad. She was received at the Military Hospital by Col R K Thaker, Commanding Officer and Lt. Col RK Sudan, Principal Matron of the Hospital. Lt Col (Ms) RK Sudan briefed the visiting dignitary about the deployment of nursing officers and escorted her to various wards of the hospital including the Red Cross Department at Military Hospital. The Major General also interacted with doctors, nursing staff and patients during her visit.

Maj Gen (Mrs) Sethi addressed all nursing officers of Military Hospital and shared with them her rich personal experiences. Maj Gen Sethi highlighted the importance of specialisation in the field of military nursing and encouraged the nursing officers to go in for specialised courses during their service career. She said that specialisation would not only provide confidence to the nursing officers in their profession, but would also give them the much desired satisfaction.

Later in the evening, a social evening was organised in honour of the visiting dignitary at the Nursing Officers Mess which was attended by all nursing officers, medical officers and specialists from Military Hospital, Allahabad and other senior officers of Allahabad Station.

Fortyfive primary teachers were awarded certificates for their participation and successful completion of the In-service course for primary teachers by the Assistant Commissioner, Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan, Jammu region at a colourful valedictory function at the Kendriya Vidyalaya, No 1 Udhampur.

The proceedings commenced with a warm welcome extended by the programme coordinator, Mr Manish Trivedi to the chief guest, Mr SD Sharma and the guests of honour. A presentation of the complete proceedings of the In -service course by the Course Director, Mr SD Nagpal followed. In his brief, informative and impressive report, he highlighted every minute details of the programme.

Later, the trainees introduced themselves to the guests of honour. Two participants, Miss Bhavishka Thapa and Mrs SR Awasthi shared their views about the course while Miss Thapa lauded the efforts put in by the Course Director and his team.

A farewell song was presented by the trainees of KV No 1 Udhampur in honour of guest participants followed by the certificate distribution.

Mr SD Sharma, in his inspiring speech, guided the teachers to provide goal-oriented and child-centred education. He stressed that the children must be dealt with by teachers like their own children. He urged the trainees to be, vigilant about the academic changes and live up to the expectations of parents and society.

An attestation parade of Assam Rifles’ recruits was held at 11 Gorkha Rifles’ Regimental Centre (11 GRRC) in Lucknow Cantonment. Altogether, 135 recruits, on successful conclusion of their training, were inducted into the Assam Rifles as full-fledged soldiers. The recruits had been undergoing training at the 11 GRRC, under the guidance of Lt Col Rejeev Sandhir.

Congratulating the new soldiers of the Assam Rifles, the chief guest on the occasion, Col Hardev Singh, Commandant, 11 GRRC, asked them to remain alert against any eventuality. He also took salute at the march past by the newly inducted soldiers who were led by Nb Sub LB Limbu in four platoons.

On the occasion, Deepak Prakash Singh, Hukum Chand, Saroj Rai and Mongko Yangchu were declared "best recruits"

Earlier, Maj RS Bhandari assisted by Sub LP Gautam, administered the oath of allegiance to the recruits.

The mortal remains of Capt Badal Singh Sikarvar who attained martyrdom due to enemy shelling in operation Parakram were cremated with full military honours at Bhainsa Kund in Lucknow. During the cremation, arms were reversed as a mark of respect to the martyr and a two-minute silence was observed.

The Governor of Uttar Pradesh, Mr Vishnu Kant Shastri, Urban Development Minister, Mr Lalji Tandon and Minister for Social Welfare, Mr Indrajeet Saroj offered their tributes to the martyr.A Wreath was also also laid by Chief Signal Officer, Central Command, Maj Gen GB Tripathi, on behalf of Army Commander, Central Command, Lt Gen DS Chauhan. Earlier, on arrival at the Amausi airport, a contingent of the 11 GRRC presented a guard-of-honour and received the body with full military honours.

At a time when most of the Army personnel are deployed on the borders to make even supreme sacrifice for their motherland, the Army Cantonment in Allahabad has become a soft target for not only ISI operatives but also for anti-social elements. These ISI operatives and anti-social elements, in connivance with land mafia have become active in and around cantonment with their nefarious designs. It is a matter of shame that when soldiers are away on borders, the Army land gets illegally trespassed and encroached by land mafia.

In a meeting with Adm Commandant, CEO, DEO and other authorities of Cantt, Brig NS Rana, Commander, Allahabad Sub Area has reiterated that no one would be allowed to encroach upon the Army land and people trying to trespass or encroach Army land would be severely dealt with. He appealed to the citizens visiting cantonment area to carry valid identity card to prove their identity to avoid embarrassment. The matter has also been discussed with district administration and local police who have promised full support to Army authorities in this regard.

Brig Rana further stated that keeping in view the current situation in the cantonment area, the mobile quick reaction teams, sentries and military police have been given strict instructions to keep an eye on anti-social elements who may try to enter residential areas with ulterior motives. In addition, special teams have been detailed to keep a watch on the Army land and ward off any designs by the land mafia to encroach upon the land. He also requested the citizens to co-operate with the Army to ensure safety and security of the cantonment at this hour of crisis.

The five-day long wrestling bonanza at the Diamond Jubilee Sports Complex of Air Force Station, Bamrauli came to an end with an impressive closing ceremony which was presided over by Air Marshal SP Tyagi, Air Officer Commanding -in-Chief of Central Air Command. The complex was full with officers and Air Force personnel who witnessed the last four bouts of the championship with lot of cheers and enthusiasm for their favourite teams. Finally, the team from Western Air Command (WAC) bagged the first place in both Greeco Roman and Free Style Wrestling and also won the most coveted overall champion trophy. Air Marshal SP Tyagi handed over the overall champion trophy to the team Captain and manager of Western Air Command. South Western Air Command was the runners-up.

As a part of enhancement of sports facilities by HQ ATNKK & G Area, under the aegis of Station Headquarters Chennai, a basketball court has been inaugurated at Army Parade Ground, Fort St George. Cmde CTD
Nair, Commandant, Embarkation Headquarters, Chennai inaugurated the court and a friendly basketball match between Island Ground team and Fort team was held as inaugural match.

Chief of Staff, Western Command, Lt Gen HS Kanwar visited the Paraplegic Rehabilitation Centre (PRC), Mohali. He was accompanied by Maj Gen RS Batra, MGIC (Administration) and Maj Gen TA D’ Cunha, MGAOC.

Lt Gen Kanwar was briefed about the activities of the centre that cater to the medical and rehabilitative needs of the paraplegic soldiers. Col Jaswant Singh Director, PRC told that the centre was established in 1978.

The Chief of Staff went around the various sections of the centre such as physiotherapy room, wards, vocational training workshop and inmates quarters. He emphasised the need to rehabilitate them in government and private sector jobs after imparting suitable vocational training.

The vocational training at the PRC is financed by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. The inmates and their families are being trained in cutting and tailoring, knitting with machines, candle-making and canning of chairs. The products are sold at nominal price through AWWA shops, unit canteens and sector welfare societies.

Station Headquarters, Chennai organised a campaign on safe driving at Island Ground. Brig BK Unnikrishnan, Station Commander, Chennai, inaugurated the campaign. Drivers from all military units in Chennai attended the campaign.

Experts in the field of automobiles addressed the military drivers about the habits to be inculcated for safe-driving.

The first multimedia centre in the Indian Army was inaugurated at the Officers Training Academy, Chennai by its Commandant, Maj Gen Sudhir Mohan.

Speaking on the occasion, the General Officer said that the state-of-art facility had been set up at a cost of Rs 40 lakh. It is equipped with 35 computers with necessary accessories. He said that the fully integrated computer managed contro1 system would qualitatively enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of indoor training, besides facilitating personalised multimedia instruction. The instructor could communicate with each trainee and monitor his progress, thereby exercising complete command and control. The centre would be used for imparting basic computer training, teaching of application software, multimedia demonstration and software simulation packages. It would also function as a hi-tech language laboratory for enhancing the communication skills of the cadets, he added.

National Cadet Corps (NCC) paid a compensation of Rs 1 lakh to the parents of R Sathya who was killed in the glider crash at Tambaram.

Mr R Raghunathan, father of the victim received the bank draft from
Cmde PP Singh, Deputy Director General, NCC (Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry & Andaman & Nicobar), Chennai.

NCC Cadet Welfare Society, New Delhi has sanctioned a total compensation of Rs 2 lakh for the parents of R Sathya. The balance Rs 1 lakh will be paid after the completion of formalities.

Later, interacting with media persons, Cmde Singh said that the report of the enquiry into the crash would be available shortly. The state government had also been approached for grant of relief to the parents of R Sathya, he added.

Maintenance Command, Air Force won the overall trophy at the four-day Air Force Weightlifting Championship which was held at the Lecma Auditorium of the 3 Base Repair Depot (BRD), Chandigarh. The Maintenance Command bagged the first position with 145 points, while the Western Air Command and Southern Air Command stood in the second and third places with 119 points and 79 points respectively. Cpl A Nasruddeen of Air Headquarters was adjudged the best weightlifter.

Ten new records were established in various weight categories. On the basis of this championship, 16 lifters were selected for the forthcoming services weightlifting championship scheduled to be held in Roorkee in September, this year.

Chairman, Air Force Sports Control Board, Air Vice Marshal AK Singh gave away prizes to the winners. Earlier, the Air officer Commanding, 3 BRD, Air Cmde SB Prasher inaugurated the championship.

In all, eight teams representing Air Headquarters and various Air Commands vied for top honours in various categories.

The first-ever telemedicine with video conferencing facility was inaugurated by Maj Gen AS Jamwal, GoC, ATNKK & G Area at the Military Hospital, Chennai.

Telemedicine, being a strategic essential of a modern health care system, enables doctors to examine patients at distant places through the medium of telecommunications and videoconferencing technology. This facility has been established in consultation with the specialists of Apollo hospital, Chennai, who will provide necessary expertise and guidance.

Speaking on the occasion, Maj Gen Jamwal said that the project would benefit a large clientele consisting of serving personnel of Army, Air Force, Navy and Coast Guard apart from ex-servicemen and their families.

Brig SR Kamtekar, Deputy Director Medical Service said that this facility would be extended to seven military hospitals in the southern states in about a month and all military hospitals in the country would be covered in two years.

Earlier, Maj Gen AS Jamwal presented sophisticated medical equipment worth about Rs 50,000 to the Dental Care Centre at the hospital.

A high level defence delegation from Afghanistan led by its Defence Minister, Mr Marshal Mohammad Fahim was given a detailed presentation on training facilities available at the Air Force Training Command Headquarters in Bangalore.

Air Marshal TJ Master, Commanding-in-Chief of the Training Command told the delegation that officers from many countries in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia have been availing the IAF’s training facilities.

The 11-member delegation included the Governor of Kabul, Chief of the Afghan Air Force and other senior officers. Mr Vivek Katju, Ambassador of India to Afghanistan was also present on the occasion.

Indian Air Force held a static display of aircraft for the benefit of students from different parts of the country including those from Jammu and Kashmir. AN-32 and MI-8 aircraft of the Air Force were on display at Air Base, Air Force Station, Shanghumugham. The crew members of the aircraft explained the role of the aircraft to the students. The students showed keen interest in the working of aircraft and its various roles. The display was arranged to create awareness among the students about the Air Force.

Wg Cdr Yogesh Jain inaugurated the display. Senior officers and Air Force personnel attended the function.

As a part of its silver jubilee celebrations, the Indian Coast Guard organised in Chennai a one-day blood donation camp in collaboration with Jeevan Blood Bank & Research Centre (JBBRC) and Rotary Club of India at its regional headquarters.

Over 100 personnel of the Coast Guard and their family members led by Cmde RS Vasan, Commander, Coast Guard Region (East) voluntarily donated blood.

A defence study team from Italy led by Lt Gen Ugo De Carolis, President of the Centre for Higher Defence Studies visited the Training Command Headquarters of the Indian Air Force in Bangalore to acquaint itself with the methodology and strategy adopted by the IAF to train its personnel.

Air Marshal TJ Master, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Training Command received the team.