Bathinda, January 18

As part of Army Day and Republic Day celebrations, the army is organising a mini-marathon called ‘Lets run for the nation’ here on January 22. The event is open to the public after proper registration.The aim of the event is to bring the civilian population and the Army on one platform to enhance harmony and sovereignty. The mini-marathon will be conducted in two categories — 5 km for all women and minors below 15 years of age and 10 km for participants above 15 years of age.The starting point of the marathon is Multipurpose Sports Stadium. For 5 km marathon, participants have to take a round of the stadium to Rose Garden Chowk. Similarly, for 10 km, participants will have to take a round of sports stadium to Rose Garden Chowk and then Bibiwala Chowk. The mini-marathon will begin at 6.15 am. The first prize winner will get Rs 5,000, followed by Rs 2,000 for the second spot and Rs 1,000 for the third. Besides, there are four consolation prizes. — TNS

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, January 15

Headquarters Western Command commemorated the 70th Army Day at Chandimandir today by paying homage to the soldiers who laid down their lives in the line of duty.Army Day is observed each year to mark the taking over of the reins of the Indian Army by the first Indian Commander-in-Chief, Late Field Marshal KM Cariappa, who succeeded the last British Commander-in-Chief in India, General Francis Roy Butcher on this day in 1948.In a solemn ceremony, Lt Gen GS Dhillon, Chief of Staff, Western Command, laid the wreath at the Veer Smriti war memorial on behalf of all ranks of the Command. Addressing the troops, he exhorted all ranks to strive for professional excellence and uphold the highest traditions of the Indian Army.BJYM pays homage to martyrsThe Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) paid homage to the martyrs and saluted the soldiers on Army Day at Shastri Market in Sector 22.On the occasion, Chandigarh party president Gaurav Goel said, “A day is not enough to express our gratitude to our soldiers for guarding us 24 hours and 365 days. Joining the Army is not a profession, but a passion to be ready to sacrifice everything for the nation.”

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Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh interacts with ITBP Jawans at the Nelong Border Outpost in Uttarkashi on Monday. PIB/PTI

Nelong Valley (U’khand), Jan 1The Centre has undertaken a special project to connect all the border posts along the Sino-India frontier with roads, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said today as he reviewed the operational preparedness of a forward ITBP unit here.Singh ringed in the New Year with the troops of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) at this border post located at a height of 11,614 feet in Uttarakhand, where the mercury dropped to minus 20 degrees Celsius today. This was the first time a Home Minister or a senior Union minister paid a visit to this border post.The minister also instructed the ITBP personnel, in the presence of the force’s Director General (DG), RK Pachnanda, to find out ways to rotate the troops at such high-altitude posts in less than three months’ time. Currently, the troops are rotated every three months.This would enhance the operational efficiency of the personnel and also reduce the instances of mountain-related sickness among them, he said. “I have come here to see the conditions in which the ITBP jawans are guarding the Sino-India border,” the minister said. Wishing the personnel of the border guarding force a happy new year, Singh talked about his idea of reducing the current three months’ time of rotating the troops at such arduous and tough posts.“I will urge the ITBP to find ways and see how we can reduce the time period of deployment of troops, from three months to the least possible, as a lot of time is also spent on commuting to and from such hard areas,” he said.Heaping praise on the jawans and officers of the force, the minister said any amount of facilities provided to them would be less, considering the challenging terrain and nature they had to deal with. He added that the Centre had recently decided that the light-weight, special winter clothing, which was earlier provided to the troops posted at an altitude of above 14,000 feet, would now also be provided to the jawans posted at a height of over 9,000 feet.On Chinese incursion, he said the ITBP was successful in preventing such incidents. “China is our neighbouring country and we have good relations with them. India has always tried to maintain good relations with its neighbours,” the minister said. — PTI

An Army official and social activists pay tributes to Captain Navpal Singh Sidhu in Sriganganagar on Sunday. Tribune photo

Abohar, December 31

Tributes were paid today to Captain Navpal Singh Sidhu on his 15th Balidan Diwas at his memorial located outside his native village 40 RB, near Padampur in Sriganganagar region.Havildar Ashok Rokade arrived from Kolhapur to lay a wreath at the memorial on behalf of the 19 Maratha Light Infantry Commanding Officer, Col Manish Tiwari. A ‘sehaj path’ was also performed in the village gurdwara. Rokade had served with Sidhu for two years before the ambush. “The Army is proud of such brave hearts,” Colonel Tiwari said in a message. Captain Navpal Singh Sidhu of the 19 Maratha Light Infantry was killed in 2002 after he gunned down three PoK-trained terrorists in the Surankote area of Poonch region in Jammu and Kashmir. He was awarded the Shaurya Chakra posthumously. His father, Lt Col Agyapal Singh Sidhu, had earlier led the offensive against the Pakistani army in 1965 and 1971. — OC