Chief of the Army Staff, Gen S Padmanabhan, accompanied by Lt Gen Hari Prasad, GOC, Desert Corps visited the Bogra Brigade somewhere in the western sector. He was received by the Brigade Commander, Brig RK Kohli and was briefed on the operational preparedness of the formation to undertake assigned tasks.

Later, the Army Chief had tea with the troops. While complimenting the troops for their high morale and enthusiasm, he stressed upon the need to maintain a high standard of operational readiness in view of the prevalent situation in the neighbourhood.

The Bengal Sappers known as the Bengal Engineer Group (BEG) having its Centre at Roorkee and Air Force Base at Sarsawa near Saharanpur jointly celebrated their historic affiliation with each other.

At a solemn ceremony, wreaths were laid at BEG by Lt Gen RM Chadha, Colonel Commandant, Bengal Sappers, Air Vice Marshal DS Guram, SOA, Western Air Command, Brig SN Mukherjee, Commandant, BEG and Centre and Gp Capt BC Talukdar, Station Commander, Air Force Station, Sarsawa.

Other highlights of the celebrations included a joint sainik sammelan, exchange of mementoes, group photograph, tea with all ranks, visit to the Group Museum and lunch at the JCOs' Mess. A guest night was attended by officers and ladies of both BEG and the Air Force Base, Sarsawa. A large number of retired Bengal Sappers also graced the occasion.

Speaking on the occasion, Lt Gen Chadha said that the affiliation would undoubtedly open a new chapter in further cementing the excellent relationship between the two services. This is the first ever affiliation to
be formed at the field level, he added.

A similar function was organised at the Air Force Base, Sarsawa, which included guard of honour to the Colonel Commandant, laying of wreaths at the martyrs memorial and a dinner. The highlight of the day was a sound-and-light show on the rich cultural heritage and traditions of the Air Force and the Bengal Sappers.

Lt Gen Krishan Pal, QMG visited the Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC), Pune. Air Marshal SK Dham, Commandant, AFMC received him and briefed him on various achievements of the college.

The QMG visited various departments of the institution. He visited the Cochlear Implant Unit, Eye Bank, PSM Museum and departments of transfusion medicine, dental surgery, microbiology and medical informatics. He also visited the Department of Ophthalmology where he interacted with patients including serving personnel, dependants, ex-servicemen and civilians who had been undergoing corneal transplantation operations.

Lt Gen Krishan Pal reviewed the ongoing medical projects of the college and congratulated Air Marshal SK Dham for the achievements of the college in medical research and teaching. The Lieutenant General lauded the high standards of medical care being provided by the college to patients. He was informed that the AFMC had secured the second best medical college rating in India and ‘A’ grade rating was awarded to the Eye Bank.

Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) organised a two-day workshop on "Handling of Court Cases" for its senior officers of various laboratories under the aegis of Defence Laboratory, Jodhpur (DLJ). The objective of this workshop was to develop a range of ideas and skills for handling court cases and identify the steps involved in filing parawise reply to a court case and procedure to implement the court decisions.

The workshop was inaugurated by Dr Ram Gopal, Director of Materials DRDO, New Delhi. In his address, he suggested that the problems of the employees of each laboratory be resolved in an amicable manner at a very early stage itself so as to avoid litigation/court cases.

Justice Chand Mal Sa Lodha, Chief Justice of Rajasthan (Retd) was the chief guest on the occasion. In his address, he stated that there is a need for finding solutions/redressing the grievances of the affected employees at their respective departments. He further emphasised the need for concerned officers to conduct the court cases in a manner befitting the dignity of the department.

The workshop was coordinated by Mr RC Vaidya, Sc ‘E’, DLJ.

Lt Gen RM Chadha, Chief of Staff Central Command inaugurated the newly constructed Sainik Niwas of the Command Hospital, Central Command in Lucknow Cantonment.

Speaking on the occasion, Lt Gen Chadha said that the newly constructed building caters to the needs of serving and retired soldiers and their dependents who arrive from outstations to meet their relatives undergoing treatment in this hospital.

Giving details of the accommodation, Maj Gen ID Gupta, Commandant of the hospital informed that the building was constructed under the aegis of HQ Central Command. The Sainik Niwas has two double bed rooms for officers, four double bed rooms and six single bed rooms for JCOs and 12 double bed rooms and two four bed rooms for ors. These rooms have been fully furnished along with water cooler and desert cooler. Being in the close vicinity of Command Hospital, the facility would be optimally utilised by patients and their dependants, he added.

Military Hospital (MH), Kirkee recently organised a seminar on ‘Osteoarthritis Emerging Trends’. Brig B Sadananda, Commandant, Military Hospital Kirkee, welcoming the guests spoke of the magnitude of the problem of osteoarthritis in the country and stressed the need for a holistic approach in its management.

Air Marshal SK Dham, Commandant AFMC was the chief guest on the occasion. In his address, he highlighted the giant strides made in the field of immunology which have helped in understanding and curing joint diseases. He also touched upon the importance of genetic engineering in the world of medicine today.

Maj Gen VD Tiwari, Dean and Deputy Commandant of AFMC released a ‘Patient Information Booklet’ on total hip replacement (THR) on the occasion. This booklet would be given to the patients undergoing THR at MH Kirkee, to help in their post operative rehabilitation. MH, Kirkee is a pioneer in the field of joint replacement surgery in the country and total hip and knee replacement surgeries are being performed regularly at this centre. The seminar was attended by a large number of serving and retired officers.

Brig P Rajgopal, Commander, Andhra Sub Area inaugurated the Environmental Park at Defence Accounts Department Residential Complex at Trimulgherry, Secunderabad. This park is the part of the clean and green programme at the defence areas in the twin cities.

On the occasion, several senior officials of the Andhra Sub Area including ASC (Supplies) Commandant, Col Arving Katoch and others participated in the function.

Army Education Corps (AEC) has been playing a key role in enhancing the educational standards besides imparting computer education and conducting various regional and foreign language courses for the troops, said Maj Gen KN Bhatt, Additional Director General, Army Education and Colonel Commandant of AEC while addressing the AEC personnel in Lucknow Cantonment.

Maj Gen Bhatt, however, called upon the AEC personnel to gear up to the new challenges in the field of education and come up to the expectations of the military leadership. Earlier, Maj Gen Bhatt called on Lt Gen DS Chauhan the GOC-in-C, Central Command at his headquarters and discussed matters relating to various aspects of education of troops.

Maj Gen Bhatt who was on a three-day visit to the education branch of Headquarters, Central Command and local units was received at Amausi Airport by Brig IS Punia, Brigadier, Education Central Command.

The ADG, AEC also met all AEC personnel both serving and retired at a barakhana held in the cantonment. On the occasion, AEC personnel staged a cultural programme.

Lt Gen DS Chauhan, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Central Command interacted with retired commissioned officers of the Army, Navy and the Air Force at a lunch hosted for them and their wives at Surya Officers’ Institute (SOI) in Lucknow Cantonment.

During the meet, the Central Army Commander exchanged views with the retired service officers on various topics. Lt Gen RM Chadha, Chief of Staff, Central Command and a number of senior serving officers were also present on the occasion. Besides expressing solidarity with the fraternity of service officers, a large number of retired officers utilised the occasion to refresh their memories.

Operational commitments of the soldier demand long absence from home and the lady of the house has to shoulder the responsibilities of bringing up childern besides going through the stress of loneliness. The solution to such problems was the focus of the discussion at the Tri Services Wives Welfare Association Seminar held at the India Habitat Centre in New Delhi.

The seminar was attended by Mrs Roopa Padmanabhan, Mrs Harveen Krishnaswamy and Mrs Kaumudi Kumari, the wives of the Chief of the three Services and representatives from the three Wives Welfare Associations.

Dr (Mrs) Vasantha Patri, a famous psychologist, gave a talk on ‘Marital Discord’. A discussion on adolescence- related problems was also held.

The importance of regular exercise and body weight management was highlighted at a symposium on ‘Move for Health’ organised at the Military Hospital Kamptee on World Health Day.

Speaking on the occasion, the Commanding Officer of Military Hospital, Col M Mohanty said that relative inactivity due to sedentary jobs is the prime reason for diabetes, hypertension and other non-communicable diseases.

Lt Col S Agrawal highlighted the role of physical exercise in maintaining good health and the ill-effects of inactivity. Lt Col
S Srinivasan spoke on the need for exercise in relation to age, sex and disease while Lt Col Lavan Singh described the recommended methods of exercise.

A large number of officers, soldiers and their families attended the symposium held at the Garuda Hall of the Guards Regimental Centre (GRC). The Commandant GRC, Brig Vinod Chopra and Commanding Officers of Army units were present on the occasion.

The headquarters of Eastern Naval Command in Visakhapatnam played host to a group of 32 tribal children from Rama Krishna Mission Ashram at Bastar in Narainpur district (Chhattisgarh state) who were at the Naval Base on an educational visit.

During their visit, the tribal children were conducted onboard naval ship INS Konkan, submarine INS Sindhughosh and shore establishments INS Eksila, INS Dega and INS Kalinga. They also visited naval museum Swarna Jyothi situated inside the naval base. A harbour cruise in the naval channel and a visit to Simhachalam temple were also organised for the group. The group evinced keen interest and enthusiasm throughtout their visit to the naval units. INS Eksila provided accommodation and mess facilities to the visiting group.

A campfire was held at INS Eksila to mark the culmination of the visit. Rear Admiral PS Byce, Chief of Staff, Headquarters, Eastern Naval Command was the chief guest on the occasion. Cmde JS Jaswal, Commanding Officer, INS Eksila and a number of naval personnel attended the concluding ceremony.

Over a hundred ladies of Vayu Sena Nagar underwent a comprehensive medical check-up at a special welfare medical camp held recently at the Station Medicare Centre of Headquarters, Maintenance Command IAF in Mumbai.

Inaugurating the three-day multi-speciality camp, the President of the Air Force Wives Welfare Association (AFWWA) (Regional), Mrs Kusum Gupta said that through the ages the adage 'Health is the greatest Wealth’, has been proved true. In these times of tension and stress, there is a grater need for the ladies to look after their own health since they are the very linchpin around which their families revolve, she added.

Congratulating the Air Force, Army and Naval doctors for organising the camp, she stressed the need to educate the ladies on self-examination and consulting doctors at regular intervals. She hoped that these regular medical check-up camps would enable the Air Force families to lead a healthy life.

Speaking on the occasion, the Principal Medical Officer of HQ MC IAF, Air Cmde RN Diwan said that non-communicable diseases are greater killers than war injuries. The defence services have been providing multi-speciality services under one roof at no-cost to the personnel and their family members. He added that since defence personnel undergo yearly medical check-up and school children are medically examined at their schools, the same privilege of complete medical check-up is now being provided to the ladies.

The renovated Central Command (CSDC) Canteen "Surya Shopping Complex" was inaugurated by Mrs Meera Chauhan, President, Central Command Army Wives’ Welfare Association (CCAWWA) in the presence of a large number of Army personnel including Lt Gen DS Chauhan, Central Army Commander, Lt Gen RM Chadha, Chief of Staff and Maj Gen Rana SK Kapur, Chief Engineer, HQ Central Command besides a number of beneficiaries.

Among the new shops which have been included is an exclusive ‘AWWA Outlet’ with gift items, paintings, artefacts, embroidery and handicraft articles made by the family welfare centre and AWWA Vocational Training Centre.

Mr M Kumaraswami IDAS, Director General Defence Accounts (DGCA) inaugurated the 53rd Defence Pension Adalat at P & A (ORs) Office at Secunderabad. Speaking on the occasion, he said that the CDA has been taking all possible measures to settle the pending cases of pension of the defence service personnel. He further said that CDA has been dealing with about two million pensioners in different categories including 6 lakh disability pensions. 9400 cases were received and 95 per cent of them were settled. Later, he distributed cheques to ten pensioners and assured to settle all pending cases within stipulated time.

Earlier, the Principal Controller of Defence Pensions, Allahabad Mr V K Mishra, IDAS said that the CDA started a website to settle the pension issues last year. A pension case is settled within four weeks of receiving the complaint. He also said that about 80,000 pensions were paid in Nepal to the Gorkha Regiment personnel.

Mr PK Das IDAS, Controller of Defence Accounts, Chennai, in his welcome address said that CDA Chennai has been dealing with about 1,25,000 pensioners in four states. In Andhra Pradesh, about 30,000 pensioners are receiving pension through banks, treasuries and two DPDOs. This is the 4th Adalat conducted in Andhar Pradesh. This year, about 747 applications were received and 610 were settled during the Pension Adalat period.

Several senior officials from the Services, banks and treasuries participated in the function.

No. 1 Technical Training Battalion beating No. 2 Technical Training Battalion 61-21 won the championship trophy of the inter-Battalion Kabaddi tournament of AMC Centre and School in Lucknow Cantonment. The score at half time was 29-11 in favour of the victors.

Conducted on league basis, the eight-day championship had five contesting teams. Whereas the champions got eight points, the runners-up team of No 2 TT got six points. With a tally of four points,
No. 1 MT came third and No. 2 MT fourth with two points.

Lt Gen SP Malhotra, Commandant of AMC Centre and School distributed prizes to the recipients at the conclusion of the championship. Col Ved Prakash received the trophy on behalf of the champion team.

Air Marshal TJ Master, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Training Command, Indian Air Force inaugurated the basketball court at Air Force Station, Hakimpet. He was accompanied by Mrs Daphne Master, President, Air Force Officers Wives Welfare Association (AFWWA) (Regional).

He was received by Air Cmde VK Verma, Air Officer Commanding Air Force Station, Hakimpet and Mrs Sangita Verma, President AFWWA(L).