New Delhi: The Indian Navy Saturday said it remains combat-ready, mission-capable and fully prepared to fight the pandemic even as 26 sailors at the INS Angre, a stone frigate under the Western Naval Command in Mumbai, tested positive for coronavirus.

The Navy said all its missions for coastal and offshore security will continue to operate as before and it was ready to provide support to “friendly neighbours” in the Indian Ocean Region.

Earlier in the day, 20 Navy personnel had tested positive for Covid-19.

“The 26 sailors who were placed in isolation after testing positive for Covid-19 in Mumbai belong to INS Angre, a shore establishment,” the Navy said in a statement.

To allay any fear that this large breakout could affect the overall functioning of the force, the Navy said its resources continue to be mission-deployed in three dimensions, with all the networks and space assets functioning optimally.

Several Navy personnel are on maritime patrol deployment, from the Straits of Malacca in the East to Bab-el-Mandeb in the West. They also undertake ‘Op Sankalp’ to provide protection to Indian merchant vessels and anti-piracy patrols in the Gulf of Aden.

Also read: 50 military hospitals prepared for Covid-19, 6 viral testing labs up and running

All sailors continue to remain asymptomatic

The Navy said that detection of the Covid-19 cases was a result of “meticulous contact tracing and aggressive screening/testing” carried out by the Western Naval Command after a sailor tested positive on 7 April.

“All these sailors continue to remain asymptomatic and are being monitored at INHS Asvini, under the care of the best medical professionals,” the statement added.

It also underlined that there has so far not been a single case of Covid-19 on board any ship, submarine or air station of the Indian Navy.

Drawing lessons from the coronavirus outbreak aboard the American aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt last month, the Navy has decided to treat coronavirus cases on board ships as an emergency and to evacuate patients by air.

Operational units are being maintained in readiness by following a 14-day quarantine routine to meet immediate contingencies, including assistance to civil authorities and friendly maritime neighbours.

The force has also set up several quarantine facilities in naval premises at Mumbai, Goa, Kochi and Visakhapatnam for use by civilians, in case a need is felt by the government, and those evacuated from foreign countries.

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 17

An Armyman has been missing since April 7 after he accidentally slipped and fell into the Satluj river, while he was on operational patrolling duty near the Line of Actual Control in Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh.

He has been identified as Lance Havildar Prakash Ralla of Tripeak Brigade.

According to an official statement, search operations were immediately launched, initially by the patrol party and later by employing around 200 people of the unit.

The operations are being undertaken relentlessly in spite of the challenges of increasing water levels, high salt content, water current and presence of large boulders in the river.

Quadcopters, reconnaissance and observation helicopters, as well as specially trained divers from the Special Forces and engineer task forces, have also been pressed into service.

Coordination has been carried out with Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force, Border Roads Organisation and Karcham Dam authorities for requisite assistance.

An FIR for the missing individual has been lodged with the local police.

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 18

Under the ongoing ‘Operation Namaste’ launched by the Indian Army to fight against the pandemic of COVID-19, one of the electronics and mechanical engineers’ workshop of the Rising Star Corps based at Yol in Himachal Pradesh has successfully manufactured a sanitiser which is alcohol and aloe vera based, thus contributing towards preventive measures for the troops.

The project has been executed by Major Rohit Rathee and wife Srishti Singh. Major Rathee is serving with a Field Workshop Company and his wife is a full-time research scholar pursuing her PhD in gel-based bio sensors solution at Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore, in Tamil Nadu.

The formulation of sanitiser is based on WHO guidelines on hand hygiene in health care. So far, 809 litres of sanitiser has been prepared. The cost of the product is Rs 320 per litre, which is less than 50 per cent of the market price.

The production capability at present is 100 litres a day, which can be scaled up depending on the availability and quality of various chemicals in the local market. This initiative is solely for the welfare of troops of the Army and is based on no profit no loss model.

Majid Jahangir

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, April 18

At least three Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) men were killed in a militant attack in north Kashmir’s Sopore sub-district on Saturday evening, officials said.

They said militants attacked a patrol party of CRPF and police at Sopore bypass, some 50 km from Srinagar in which several jawans were injured, who were immediately shifted to hospital.

“A CRPF vehicle came under militant attack, injuring many. Three injured CRPF men later succumbed to their injuries,” a senior CRPF officer said.

Soon after the attack, joint forces cordoned the area to trace the attackers.

The slain CRPF men have been identified as 42-year-old head constable Rajeev Sharma, a resident of Vaishali, Bihar; constable C.B. Bhakare (38) of Buldhana, Maharashtra and constable Parmar Stayapal Singh (28) of Sabarkantha, Gujarat.

Two CRPF men were also injured the attack.

The attack comes a day after militants fired at a Naka party of CRPF at Newa Pulwama in south Kashmir, in which a CRPF jawas was injured.

Tribune News Service
Srinagar, April 17

Army chief General MM Naravane on Friday impressed upon the commanders to maintain strict vigil along the Line of Control and remain prepared to give a befitting reply to any misadventure from across.

On the second day of his two-day visit to the Kashmir Valley, General Naravane, the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), visited the forward areas and reviewed the security situation along the LoC, which has seen an escalation of tension recently after a deadly gunfight in Keran sector of Kupwara.

The COAS accompanied by Northern Army Commander Lt Gen YK Joshi and Chinar Corps Commander Lt Gen BS Raju visited the formations and units, wherein the local commanders briefed the COAS on the existing security situation and the measures instituted so that infiltration bids by terrorists are foiled.

“The Chief of Army Staff was briefed by the local commanders on the situation on the Line of Control, ceasefire violations, our retaliations, counter-infiltration operations and operational preparedness being maintained,” the Srinagar-based defence spokesman said.

During his interaction with the soldiers on snow-clad heights, he was appreciative of the sharp vigil and alertness along the Line of Control and high morale of the troops.

The COAS also impressed upon the commanders to maintain strict vigil along the Line of Control and remain prepared to give a befitting reply to any misadventure from across and exhorted the soldiers to remain alert for any eventuality.

There has been an escalation of tension along the LoC after a recent fierce encounter in Keran Kupwara, in which five elite Para commandos and as many militants were killed.

Days later the Indian Army targeted militant launch pads and gun positions in Keran sector following a ceasefire violation by Pakistan.

Three civilians, including a seven-year-old child, were killed in cross-border shelling in Kupwra some days ago.

Chandigarh, April 18

Gurdev Kaur Dhaliwal, 98, wakes up early every day, offers prayers and then spends hours on her sewing machine, which is almost as old as her, stitching face masks for the poor who can’t afford them.

The resident of Moga district in Punjab has blurry vision in one eye, but that does not let her energy and vigour down, said her daughter-in-law Amarjit Kaur.

The nonagenarian, who takes help of a walker, wakes up early, offers prayers and then starts making masks on the machine which her in-laws got for her from Singapore over 100 years ago.   “Several vegetable sellers in our area were not wearing masks. We told them to wear it to protect themselves from coronavirus but they said they could not afford it. Then we decided to stitch masks and give it to them free of cost,” Amarjit told PTI over phone.

Now, many people have started coming to her house to get free face covers, she said.

Dhaliwal’s neighbours are coming forward to help her and many of them also giving clothes for making masks, Amarjit said.

The Punjab government has made wearing masks mandatory as at least 202 people have been infected with coronavirus in the state. PTI

Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, April 18

Hitting out at Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal for trying to “mislead” the people, Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Saturday categorically rejected her claims of Central relief being provided to the state for fighting Covid.

“Your information is absolutely incorrect,” said Capt Amarinder in response to Harsimrat’s series of tweets in which she claimed that “Punjab received funds and grains to deal with the Covid crisis”.

“The state has received absolutely no money from the Central government in its fight against Covid,” said the Chief Minister, terming Harsimrat’s remarks as another manifestation of “her compulsive habit of lying and being ill-informed” about even the basic facts relating to her own state.

Asking her to cross-check her facts, the Chief Minister said instead of using her office as a Central minister to help out her own state, Harsimrat was shamelessly indulging in petty politics.

“What are you doing sitting there if you can’t fight for Punjab and its people,” the Chief Minister asked Harsimrat, lashing out at her for trying to undermine the state government’s efforts instead of supporting it.

Nailing Harsimrat’s lies, the Chief Minister pointed out that the Rs2,366 crore referred to by her on the GST count was Punjab’s money, in lieu of the GST owed to the state against arrears. And even there, Rs4,400 crore of the state’s money was still pending with the government, he added.

“You couldn’t even get our own pending arrears released, leave alone get us the much-needed relief package to fight the Covid battle,” he quipped.

New Delhi, April 17

A list of retired Army Medical Corps officers and paramedic staff has been readied for any exigency while 50 military hospitals have been notified as dedicated Covid hospitals.

In case the need arises, retired personnel may be requested to volunteer for working in hospitals at their current home stations. Forty three officers and 990 paramedics have volunteered till date, the Minister of Defence Rajnath Singh was informed at review meeting today.

Meanwhile, to cater for isolation and treatment (including ICU-based care) for Covid-19 cases, a notification has been issued for 50 military hospitals to be dedicated as Covid and mixed Covid hospitals.

These hospitals have a combined bed capacity of 9,038 patients. Civilian Covid-19 cases would also be admitted in these hospitals to cater to any surge in cases.

Training activities have been suspended at AMC Centre & College, Lucknow, and Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC), Pune. Approximately, 650 medical officers undergoing postgraduate training at the AFMC will be reverted back to units for provision of medical cover depending on the evolving situation. — TNS

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, April 18

As many as 25 sailors of the Indian Navy have tested positive for Covid-19 at shore-based logistics hub INS Angre in Mumbai, the headquarters of the Western Naval Command. Naval officials said the 25 sailors were undergoing treatment at INHS Asvini, the naval hospital at Colaba in Mumbai.

Army doc tests +ve

The Indian Army on Saturday reported its ninth Covid case with a woman doctor posted at Dehradun testing positive. Her contacts are being traced. Separately, a batch of Army doctors in Lucknow are being tested and quarantined.

The infected personnel had shown no symptoms but were quarantined after a fellow sailor tested positive a few days back. INS Angre is tasked with supplying logistics to naval units.

“Most (cases) are asymptomatic and have been traced to a single sailor who tested positive on April 7. They all reside in the same accommodation block at INS Angre,” the Navy said. INS Angre has been put under total lockdown and the Navy is carrying out testing of all people staying in the residential accommodation that has been declared a containment zone.

These are the first en bloc cases in the Navy. The Western Naval Command is a strategic establishment as it takes care of India’s maritime interests in the Arabian Sea and parts of the Indian Ocean.

The Navy has said it “remains combat-ready and mission-capable”. Navy warships continue to remain on patrol, covering a vast oceanic swath from the Straits of Malacca to Bab-el-Mandeb near Yemen. Besides, surveillance planes of the Navy are doing daily sorties.

Tribune News Service
New Delhi, April 19

The central government said on Sunday there was not considering any proposal for pension cuts, a development that comes amid the coronavirus pandemic.

In an official release, the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pension said it had come to its notice that in the wake of the current coronavirus pandemic and the ensuing economic scenario, “many rumours are afloat that the Government is contemplating a reduction/stoppage of Pension which has become a source of worry for the Pensioner”.

It said: “As clarified earlier, it is being reiterated that there is no such proposal for reduction of pension and no action is contemplated by the Government in this respect. Instead, the Government is committed for the welfare and well being of the pensioners”.

Earlier taking note of reports suggesting 20 per cent cut in pensions to conserve cash during the Covid-19 lockdown, even Union Ministry of Finance in a Twitter post clarified saying: “This news is false. There will be no cut in pension disbursements. It is clarified that salaries and pensions will not be affected by government cash management instructions.”

The tweet came in response to a question by a social media user, who said he has come across a central government circular showing 20 per cent cut in pension disbursement on social media and TV channels.