Villagers along with their cattle wade through a Banana raft from the flood affected village of Murkata in Morigaon district, Assam, on July 22, 2016. PTI photo
Guwahati, July 22
Floods on Friday engulfed more districts in Assam amid heavy deluge and pouring waters of overflowing rivers in the state affecting three lakh people, as the Army swung into action in Chirang district for rescue works.
Deluge spread to nine districts on Friday from Thursday’s seven, Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) said.
Lakhimpur, Golaghat, Morigaon, Jorhat, Dhemaji, Sivasagar, Kokrajhar, Barpeta and Bongaigain are the districts most affected.
Floodwaters have affected three lakh people in 464 villages.
Overflowing water of the swollen Brahmaputra and its tributaries has overrun roads in many areas snapping surface communication, breached embankments and caused large scale erosion in many areas, ASDMA said, adding the deluge has also submerged over 25,000 hectares of agricultural land damaging standing paddy crops there.
Based on a call for help from the local people, the Army sent its four teams in the Khungring area of Chirang on Friday, rescuing 30 people who were trapped in their marooned village, a Defence spokesman said here.
The Army deployed its boats to reach the marooned people and rescued them making several trips against swift currents to save them and took them to relief camps, he said.
The spokesman said the Army is dedicated towards the safety of the people and despite all odds, is standing by to save people amid concerns of rising water levels in Assam.
The Army Flood Control Centre at Tezpur is also functioning round the clock to monitor the flood situation and coordinate relief and rescue efforts wherever required.
All units under the Area of Responsibility of the Gajraj Corps (4 Corps) are fully alert and geared up to react swiftly to any flood related contingency, he said. PTI
Azhar Qadri
Tribune News Service
Srinagar, July 17
As Pakistan has gone into an overdrive to internationalise the K-issue, separatist leaders in the Kashmir valley — which has been in the midst of a major unrest — also initiated a campaign to reach out to world leaders.Syed Ali Shah Geelani, who heads a faction of separatist amalgam Hurriyat Conference, wrote a letter on Sunday which, his party said, has been sent to Prime Ministers of Pakistan and Turkey, King of Saudi Arabia, presidents of China and Iran.The copies of the letter have also been sent to the United Nations Security Council, heads of UNSC permanent members, European Union, Organisation of Islamic Countries, South Asian Association of Regional Countries and the Association Southeast Asian Nations.The letter, which requested the international community to intervene and urge India to take confidence-building measures, comes at a time when Pakistan has upped the ante on Kashmir amid an unrest in the region that was triggered by the killing of militant commander Burhan Wani.At least 38 civilians have been killed as the Jammu and Kashmir Police and the Central Reserve Police Force made attempts to quell the protests that have continued across the Kashmir valley since Saturday last week.India has strongly reacted to Pakistan’s attempts to internationalise the Kashmir issue even as Islamabad has shown no intent of backing down despite the United States’ appeal for reducing “rhetoric and violence”.Geelani, who has been demanding Kashmir’s accession to Pakistan, in his letter asked the world bodies and leaders to urge India to take six confidence-building measures which include acceptance of “disputed nature” of Jammu and Kashmir, rapid demilitarisation of population centres, repeal AFSPA and the Public Safety Act, release political prisoners, allow various international human rights groups to work in Kashmir and ensure free political space.
For intervention
- Syed Ali Shah Geelani, who heads the hardline faction of separatist amalgam Hurriyat Conference, has written to Prime Ministers of Pakistan and Turkey, King of Saudi Arabia, presidents of China and Iran
- He has asked international community to urge India to take confidence-building measures
Tribune News Service
Patiala, July 13
The World War-II veteran and a member of the Indian National Army, sepoy Harnam Singh, died in Patiala, today. He was 94 and the recipient of the Tamar Patra in recognition of his contribution for upholding and promoting democracy principals in the country.His family had shifted to Patiala a couple of years ago and was residing at Urban Estate, Phase-II. Harnam Singh was born in 1922 in Hazara, now in Pakistan. He was captured and detained by the enemy during the World War.He was cremated with full honours at the Bir Ji cremation ground. He is survived by two sons— Devinderpal Singh and Bhupinder Singh—and daughter Raminder Kaur Lekhi.“My father was not keeping well for the past some time. He lived a life of integrity and served the nation when it mattered the most,” said harnam Singh’s son Devinderpal Singh.
5.4 lakh has been released as arrears for the widow of an Indian, who was a soldier of the Burmese army. JUNE 8 ARMY RELEASE
CHANDIGARH: The chain of command in the army finally woke to up the plight of the widow of a World War 2 veteran. Denied pension and told to ‘Rangoon’ to get the records of her husband’s service before she could be paid pension after his death, the army has released `5.44 lakh arrears to Sangrur resident 99-year-old Gurdial Kaur. In a March 20 report, ‘Army tells war widow to get husband’s record from ‘Rangoon’, HT had highlighted that the It was Artillery Records department of the army had had told her to go to Myanmar (Burma) for her husband’s record.
Gurdial, the widow of Naik Harnam Singh of the Burmese (earlier Burma) Army, was entitled to family pension on the death of her husband in 2012, but had not been paid a penny since. The last pension her husband has been paid was `8,400 a month. She also petitioned the Punjab and Haryana high court.
In a July 8 statement, the army said, “On March 20 2016, the Hindustan Times published an article “Army tells war widow to get husband’s record from ‘Rangoon’. The article highlighted the hardships faced by Gurdial Kuar, 99, wife of late Naik Harnam Singh of the Myanmar Army (erstwhile Burma Army) in finalisation of her pension claim.”
“In spite of the individual not being from the Indian Army, efforts were made for expeditious settlement of the case …. `5.44 lakh has been released as arrears for widow of an Indian, who was a soldier of the Burmese Army,” the statement added. THE ISSUE
After the British annexed Myanmar to the Indian province during their rule, a uniform system of administration throughout the colonial government was established. The system remained even after Myanmar’s separation from British India in 1937; whereby, many Indian nationals continued serving in Myanmar, as in the case of Harnam. He even served with the Burmese Army during World War II. As per the Myanmar government, in the event of death of the military personal concerned after retirement, the family pension was restricted to the period remaining up to 10 years from the date of retirement or up to the date on which the concerned personnel would have attained the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier. In 2009, the Indian government brought out a policy for paying pension to such employees. Harnam gained from the policy and continued to get pension till his death in 2012.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday sought the government’s response on a plea of an ex-servicemen’s body seeking implementation of One Rank-One Pension (OROP) as recommended by the Koshyari Committee with an automatic annual revision, instead of the current policy of periodic review once in five years. A bench comprising Justices Dipak Misra and C Nagappan issued notice and sought the response from the government in eight weeks. The Indian Ex-servicemen Movement and others have challenged the government’s policy of periodic review of pension once in five years saying it was dilution of the 2014 announcement. PTI
Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks as South African President Jacob Zuma looks on during their joint press statement in Pretoria, South Africa, on July 8, 2016. PTI photo
Pretoria, July 8
India and South Africa on Friday agreed to deepen engagement in key areas of defence production, manufacturing, mining and minerals while vowing to cooperate “actively” in combating terrorism and dealing with issues at multilateral forums, ratcheting up their traditional ties.
After extensive talks with South African President Jacob Zuma, Prime Minister Narendra Modi projected India as an attractive destination for manufacturing of defence equipment and platforms and said both countries could join hands in not only meeting needs of each other but also to respond to regional and global demand.
South Africa is a major player in defence production globally.
During the meeting, Modi thanked President Zuma for South Africa’s support to India’s membership bid to the Nuclear Suppliers Group.
“We know that we can count on the active support of our friends, like South Africa,” he said. There were reports that South Africa was among countries which had reservations about India’s bid to join the 48-nation grouping.
Holding that ties between India and South Africa have been a story of strong advances and concrete achievements, Modi said there was potential to ramp up cooperation in trade and investment, especially in areas of minerals and mining, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, manufacturing and information technology.
In a joint press interaction with Zuma, Modi invoked Mahatma Gandhi and said he belongs as much to India as to South Africa.
“For me personally, this visit is an opportunity to pay homage to two of the greatest human souls to have ever walked this Earth — Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela,” said Modi.
Talking about combating terrorism, Modi said it attacks the very foundations of society and that both countries agreed to combat it with active cooperation.
“Terrorism is another shared threat that puts at risk the safety and security of our people. It attacks the very foundations of our society. The President and I agreed that our two nations need to stay vigilant and cooperate actively to combat terrorism, both in our region and in the world,” he said.
Referring to opportunities in the defence and security sector, Modi said companies from both countries could pool their capacities to jointly develop or manufacture defence equipments and platforms.
“Beyond economic ties, and links of business, trade and investment, we can also partner in the field of defence and security. Both, at the level of industry and for our strategic and security needs,” he said.
He said defence sector in India is one of the sectors witnessing a complete transformation and that it offers exciting opportunities.
“Our companies can also pool their capacities to jointly develop or manufacture defence equipments and platforms.And, not just to meet our defence needs, but also to respond to regional and global demand,” he said. — PTI
Other climbers say the couple never reached the summit and used some trick photography to earn their climbing certificates.
Kathmandu, July 4
Nepal has launched a probe to verify the claims made by an Indian police couple of having scaled the Mount Everest after it was alleged that they faked their expedition to the peak’s summit by morphing photographs.
Tarakeshwari and Dinesh Rathod, who are serving as constables in Pune Police, had claimed on June 5 that they became the first Indian couple to scale the Everest on May 23.
They had obtained summit certificates from Nepal’s Department of Tourism by allegedly submitting doctored photos showing them on the top of world’s highest peak.
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Laxman Sharma, chief at the Mountaineering Department under Nepal’s Ministry of Tourism, said authorities are probing the Everest climb made by Rathore and his wife.
“The climbers have already returned to India and we have asked Makalu Adventure, the local agency that managed the expedition for clarification regarding the matter within 24 hours,” he said.The couple was issued climber’s certificates from the Nepal government after they presented a photograph of themselves on the 8,850-metre (29,035-foot) summit.Other climbers, however, say the couple never reached the summit and used some trick photography to earn their climbing certificates.Satyarup Siddhantha, a climber from Bangalore, accused the couple of plagiarising his summit photos which were taken when he scaled the Everest on May 21, the Himalayan Times reported.A source at the Tourism Department also said they have a doubt about the genuineness of the claim made by the Indian couple.If the accusation is found to be true, the couple would lose their certificates and be banned from climbing any mountains in Nepal, officials here said.A probe has also been ordered in India to verify their claims after a group of mountaineers approached Pune Police alleging that the two have faked their expedition.During the busy climbing season this year, which follows two years of disasters on the mountain, 456 people scaled the Everest. — PTI
Legal Correspondent
New Delhi, July 28
Army doctors today approached the Supreme Court pleading for parity with civilian medicos in the retirement age at 65. A Bench headed by Justice Anil R Dave agreed to hear tomorrow a petition by eight doctors slated to retire in three days.The petitioners from the Army Medical Corps (AMC) pleaded that the Centre had recently raised the retirement age of civilian doctors to 65 years, but the Defence Ministry was not extending the benefit to the Army where doctors retired at 60 or 62, depending on their rank.However, other government wings such as paramilitary forces had decided to follow the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) decision to retire doctors at 65 years from May 31 this year.The Centre’s move came at the instance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for making use the services of experienced doctors for the benefit of the poor.
