Veteran skater Gopal Bhardwaj with children in Mussoorie on Sunday. Tribune photo

Tribune News Service

Mussoorie, February 14

Veteran roller skaters have dedicated their 42nd Mussoorie-Delhi rally to Lance Naik Hanumanthappa for his supreme sacrifice of life at Siachen Glacier.Hanumanthappa was dug out alive from the snow, when an avalanche hit a team of Army soldiers at Siachen Glaciers, a few days back. However, he could not survive after an immense struggle at the Army Hospital in New Delhi. This year’s rally is dedicated to him, said Gopal Bhardwaj, a veteran roller skater.He also skated around the rink wearing his roller skates at Garhwal terrace as mark of respect to the martyr and the soldiers who lost their lives at Siachen.Gopal Bhardwaj said on this day 42 years ago five roller skaters embarked on the 350 km journey fromMussoorie to Delhi. The anniversary is held to remember that feet every year. He said the objective of the rally was to appeal youth to stay away from drugs and other vices and instead involve themselves in physical activities like roller skating.Anand Mishra, Gurdarshan Jaiswal, Gopal Bhardwaj, Singara Singh and GS Hora were other members of the team.

Doon alumnus promoted as Air Marshal

Air Marshal RD Mathur

Dehradun, February 14

Air Vice Marshal Rajiv Dayal Mathur, who was the Assistant Chief of Air Staff in charge of the Air Warfare Strategy Cell, has been promoted to the post of Air Marshal.Air Marshal RD Mathur, an alumnus of Cambrian Hall and St Joseph’s Academy, Dehradun, topped the ICSE batch of 1976 and joined the NDA in 1978.Having topped the BSc course at the NDA, he was later commissioned into the fighter stream of the Indian Air Force in June 1982. The officer has over 5,000 hours of flying experience in a variety of operational and training roles.Air Marshal RD Mathur has served as the Air Defence Commander at HQ Eastern Air Command and commanded a frontline air force station and a fighter aircraft squadron.He underwent postgraduate courses at the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington and the National Defence College, New Delhi, and holds MSc and MPhil degrees in Defence and Strategic Studies from Madras University.For his meritorious service, he has been awarded the Vishisht Seva Medal in 2003 and Ati Vishisht Seva Medal in 2014 by the President of India. — TNS

—AFP/file

Washington, February 12

The Islamic State militant group has used chemical weapons and can make small quantities of chlorine and mustard gas, CIA Director John Brennan has said, warning of the possibility that the dreaded outfit could seek to export the weapons for financial gain.

“We have a number of instances where ISIL (ISIS) has used chemical munitions on the battlefield,” Brenna told CBS News in an interview, the excerpts of which was released yesterday.

“There are reports that ISIS has access to chemical precursors and ammunitions that they can use,” Brennan said in response to a question.

According to the CBS news, CIA believes that ISIS has the ability to manufacture small quantity of chlorine and mustard gas.

Brennan warned of the possibility that the Islamic State group could seek to export the weapons to the West for financial gain.

“I think there is always a potential for that (exporting those chemicals). That is why it is so important to cut off the various transportation routes, the smuggling routes that that have used,” he said in response to a question.

Brennan said the US intelligence is actively involved in part of the effort to destroy ISIL and get as much insight into what they have on the ground inside Syria and Iraq.

Early this week, James Clapper, Director of National Intelligence, told members of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence that ISIS has used chemical weapons in Iraq and Syria.

“Chemical weapons continue to pose a threat in Syria and Iraq. Damascus has used chemicals against the opposition on multiple occasions since Syria joined the chemical weapons convention,” he had said.

“ISIL has also used toxic chemicals in Iraq and Syria, including the blister agent sulphur mustard. The first time an extremist group has produced and used a chemical warfare agent in an attack since Aum Shinrikyo used sarin in Japan in 1995,” Clapper had said.

Mustard gas is a class chemical warfare agents with the ability to form large blisters on the exposed skin and in the lungs.

Chlorine gas is a toxic gas and pulmonary irritant with intermediate water solubility that causes acute damage to the receptors in the epithelium of the respiratory tract. —PTI

Tribune News Service

Jammu, February 8

The Northern Command will hold an investiture ceremony on February 12 in Udhampur to present 38 medals, including gallantry and service decoration, to Army men.The medals will be presented by Northern Command chief Lt Gen DS Hooda.On the occasion, President’s gallantry and distinguished service awards will be presented to military personnel and civilians for their service to the nation.Lt Gen DS Hooda will felicitate the bravehearts of the Army who had exhibited their valour and dedication while discharging their duty, said a defence spokesperson.“It will be a moment of pride and honour for all awardee officers, jawans and their families under the Command. The civilians who assisted the Army are also being felicitated on the occasion,” the spokesperson said.The spokesperson added: “A total of 19 Sena Medals (Gallantry), including three posthumously, will be presented by the Northern Command chief. Apart from the gallantry awards, nine Vishisht Seva Medals and 10 Sena Medals (Distinguished) will be presented to soldiers for their distinguished services.”A total of 15 civilians, including a Deputy Superintendent of Police, will also be awarded on the occasion.A total of 29 units deployed in the Northern Command theatre will be conferred Unit Citations for excellence in operations.

Lt Col Gurcharan Singh (retd) cuts a cake on his 96th birthday in Chandigarh on Monday. A Tribune photograph

Tribune News Service,Chandigarh, February 1

One of the oldest surviving officers and longest-serving commanding officer (CO) of the highly decorated 7th Light Cavalry, which created history by operating tanks at never-seen-before heights of 11,000 plus ft in sub-zero temperatures to wrest Zoji La from Pakistani invaders during the 1947-48 Indo-Pak war, Lt Col Gurcharan Singh (retd), was felicitated on his 96th birthday at his residence here today.The Colonel of the 7th Light Cavalry, Maj Gen NP Singh, Director, Defence Services Welfare, Punjab, Brig JS Arora (retd), Maj Gen GS Malhi (retd), who had served with the regiment, and Col RS Bagga, Officer Commanding No.1 (Independent), Armoured Squadron, were among those who joined the veteran soldier for a cake-cutting ceremony along with family members.Still alert, though his hearing is impaired in one ear, Lt Col Gurcharan Singh fondly remembered being a Major under the command of the legendary Maj Gen Rajinder Singh ‘Sparrow’, then a Lieutenant Colonel, when the Stuart light tanks of the regiment blasted the enemy positions at unbelievable heights of up to 11,500 ft under extreme treacherous conditions and freed the crucial Zoji La, the gateway to Leh and Ladakh in Jammu and Kashmir.After aerial reconnaissance and a lot of planning and rigorous training for the final operation, on October 29, the regiment commenced the ascent during heavy snow. Getting the tanks up the steep-winding path, with rocky cliff faces on one side and a sheer drop on the other, was a herculean task and at many bends the tank tracks often overshot the edges of the track. So steep was the gradient at some places that the tanks had to be winched slowly.On November 1, 1948, dawn broke with an overcast sky. As the guns boomed, three lead tanks debouched into Gumri Basin and engaged the enemy bunkers on Mukand and Chabutra positions and knocked them out, enabling the infantry to secure the lower reaches of the basin. The tanks then advanced and knocked out a mountain gun on the North Ridge, clearing the whole basin of the enemy, who retreated in panic.

Nawaz Sharif

Lahore, January 30

Pakistan will soon complete its investigation into the Pathankot terror attack and make it public, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said today.The attack had had a negative impact and disturbed the talks with India which were “going in the right direction” after the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, he said.“The investigation into the Pathankot incident is under way and we will make its findings public soon,” he said while talking to mediapersons here. “Whatever facts come out we will bring them forth before everyone,” he said. Sharif vowed that Pakistan would go to any length to uncover the alleged use of its soil in the January 2 attack on the air base in Pathankot by suspected Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terrorists. “It is our responsibility to uncover if our soil was used in the attack. We will do this and the ongoing investigations will soon be completed,” he said.The terrorists were being defeated and in desperation, they were carrying out isolated acts to make their presence felt, he said, adding that the remaining ones will also be eliminated.Meanwhile, Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah said none of the “suspects” arrested in connection with the attack had been charged. “The investigation team is probing the matter and its findings will be made public,” Sanaullah told mediapersons.On whether any link of JeM has been established, he said: “The investigation team is also probing this.”Sharif had formed a six-member committee headed by Additional Inspector General of Punjab’s Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) to investigate the attack in which seven security personnel were killed. — PTI

PATHANKOT SLOWED DOWN TALKS: SHARIF

EW DELHI: Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for the first time has said that the terror strike on Pathankot airbase affected the dialogue process with India, reports said on Saturday. India has alleged that Maulana Masood Azhar, chief of Pakistanbased terror group Jaish-eMohammad, is responsible for plotting the Pathankot attack and given several pieces of evidence against him.

Pathankot affected dialogue, says Sharif

Commodore M Bhada (Retd)

Convenor, Vikrant Memorial Forum

The Memorial opposite the Lion Gate in Memory of INS Vikrant, was jointly unveiled by VAdm SPS Cheema, FOC-in-C West & Shri Ajoy Mehta, Municipal Commissioner, MCGM, on Friday, 25th Jan 2016.

INS Vikrant, the first aircraft carrier of the Indian Navy, was commissioned in 1961 and after a glorious 36 years service to the Nation was decommissioned in 1997. During this period, she actively projected India’s Sea Power in the Indian Ocean region. The ship saw action in the 1971 Indo-Pak War operations in the Bay of Bengal and played an instrumental role in the defeat of Pakistan that led to the creation of a new Nation. It was owing to her presence in the Bay of Bengal that the Country’s promulgation of contraband control was effectively enforced by the use of integral air power, representing India’s   multi-dimensional Sea Power.

Despite the concerted efforts of the Indian Navy, the State Govt and the Central Govt to preserve Vikrant as a Museum, she could not be retained and finally had to be sent to the scrapyard in 2014.

The dedication on the plaque reads as follows:

This Memorial is a living testimony of deep gratitude to a majestic ship, which chartered a glorious innings in the service of our Nation, from those to whom her deck was a haven of warmth and safety. Those who took forward her immeasurable legacy as pioneers of Indian Navy’s embarked aviation cadres. She played a vital role in the early victory of the 1971 War, representing India’s multi-dimensional Sea Power. We, her shipmates, offer this little monument to the iconic Aircraft Carrier, Indian Naval Ship VIKRANT, fabricated from her recovered memorabilia, as an offering of our everlasting tribute.

This project was conceived and spearheaded single handedly by Commodore Medioma Bhada (Retd), an ex-pilot from Vikrant who acquired the parts of the ship from the scrapyard and donated them for this memorial. The monument was  designed and created by Mr Arzan Khambatta, a sculptor known to bring life to metal, who has retained the pristine condition of the parts whilst projecting iconic Vikrant’s Air Power.