In this photograph taken early May 31, 2016, fire burns at an Indian Army ammunition facility in Pulgaon, some 100 km southwest of Nagpur. AFP photo

Pulgaon, June 1

Two more bodies were recovered on Wednesday from the site of the fire mishap at central ammunition depot at Pulgaon in Wardha district, taking the death toll to 18.Three people were missing since Tuesday. Two bodies have been recovered and one person is still missing, sources told PTI.The bodies recovered on Wednesday were yet to be identified, they said.

A massive fire broke out on Tuesday at one of Asia’s biggest ammunition depot in Maharashtra’s Pulgaon that houses the largest stockpile of weapons in the country.The fire occurred in the wee hours at one of the sheds that housed “highly sensitive ammunition” in the high-security central ammunition depot (CAD), spread over 7,000 acres.“However, in efforts to douse the fire, two officers and 14 personnel (one Army jawan and 13 civilian fire fighting staff) lost their lives and two officers and 15 personnel (nine Army jawans and six civilian firefighting staff) were injured,” Director General of Military Operations Lt Gen Ranbir Singh had said.Loud explosions were heard one after the other as the raging fire lit up the night sky.The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained and the Army has instituted an inquiry into the incident, Singh had said.Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar had said there was no sabotage involved in the fire at the ammunition depot but the exact cause would be known only after inquiry.Parrikar, along with Army chief General Dalbir Singh Suhag, had visited CAD, Pulgaon and met the injured people in a local hospital. PTI

Islamabad, June 1

President Mamnoon Hussain today accused India of “running away” from talks despite Pakistan’s offer of joint-probe in the Pathankot terror attack, even as he raked up the Kashmir issue, calling it an “unfinished agenda of partition” and the main cause of regional tension.Addressing the joint session of the parliament, Hussain said: “Despite Pakistan’s efforts for resumption of talks (with India) and its offer of joint probe in the Pathankot attack, the Foreign Secretary-level talks are still suspended. Pakistan is concerned about it.”“We believe the main cause of tension in the region is the Kashmir issue. It is part of unfinished agenda of partition of the sub-continent. Unless Kashmir issue is settled according to the wishes of people of Kashmir and UN resolutions, the problems of this region cannot be resolved,” he said.He said Pakistan was a peaceful country and wants its foreign policy to be based on friendship and brotherhood with all nations.“We do not wish to be aggressive towards any nation and intend to participate with honesty in national and global affairs,” he said.The President said Pakistan wanted peaceful ties with all neighbours by addressing disputes through talks and accused India of “running away from talks with Pakistan”.He said democracy had been strengthened in the country and it can now resist and absorb different kinds of crises. — PTI

US calls for restraint

• Washington: Voicing concern that India-Pakistan conflict could escalate to include nuclear weapons, the US has asked the two nation to engage in a “sustained” bilateral dialogue and exercise “maximum restraint”. “We are concerned by nuclear and missile developments in S-Asia,” a State Department spokesperson said on recent statement of Dr AQ Khan, father of Pakistan’s N-programme, that Islamabad had the ability to target New Delhi in five minutes

http://dainiksaveratimes.epapr.in/827760/Chandigarh-Main/Chandigarh#page/7/1

In a demonstration of India’s ‘Act East’ policy and Indian Navy’s increasing footprint and operational reach, Indian Naval Ships Satpura and Kirch under the Command of the Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet, Rear Admiral S V Bhokare, YSM, NM have arrived at Cam Ranh Bay on a four day visit, as part of deployment of the Eastern Fleet to the South China Sea and Western Pacific.

During the visit, the IN ships will have professional interaction with the Vietnam People’s Navy towards further enhancing co-operation between the two forces. In addition, calls on senior Government and military authorities, sporting and cultural interactions and sharing of best practices, aimed at strengthening ties and mutual understanding between the two Navies, are also planned. The visiting IN ships are also likely to conduct exercises with the Vietnam People’s Navy, aimed at enhancing interoperability in communication as well as Search and Rescue procedures, post departure from Cam Ranh Bay. INS Satpura is commanded by Captain A N Pramod and INS Kirch is commanded by Commander Sharad Sinsunwal.

Bilateral relations between India and Vietnam are characterised by strong bonds of friendship based on cultural, religious and economic ties dating back to 2nd Century AD. The influence of Indian civilisation speaks of the deep rooted historical linkages between the nations. Indo-Vietnam relations have been strengthened in recent times by a vibrant economic relationship and growing convergence on security issues. India is now among the top ten trading partners of Vietnam. The Mekong-Ganga Cooperation initiative, which has a unique civilisational foundation, has tremendous potential to become a powerful catalyst for socio-economic development in the region.

The Indian Navy has had extensive interactions with Vietnam People’s Navy, particularly in the field of training, repairs, maintenance and logistics support aimed at capacity building. Reciprocal port visits, high-level delegations and training exchanges have bolstered naval cooperation between the two countries. The last visit by an IN ship to Vietnam was in October 2015, when Sahyadri berthed at Da Nang.

    The current visit seeks to enhance maritime cooperation between the Indian Navy and the Vietnam People’s Navy. It will further bolster   the strong bonds of friendship between India and Vietnam and contribute to security and stability in this vital part of the world.

Tribune News Service

Pathankot, May 29

An Army man serving in the Mammun Cantonment area allegedly shot himself with his service rifle this morning.Rakesh Kaushal, Senior Superintendent of Police, said the Army authorities had identified the deceased as sepoy Subhash Parsad (31) hailing from Sewan district in Bihar.He was serving in the 68 Engineering Division and was presently deputed as a sentry in the cantonment area. The SSP said after hearing the gunshots some of his colleagues rushed to the spot where they found the jawan lying in a pool of blood. “His parents have been informed and the body has been sent for a post-mortem. A case has been registered at Mammun Cantt police station,” he added.

A committee of retired bureaucrats set up to help the government draft new education policy has suggested an IAS-like all-India examination for appointing teachers. The existing NET (National Eligibility Test) already serves the purpose. It sets a national benchmark for quality and there is scope for improvement, if required. Bureaucrats learn to say “yes sir”, students need encouragement to question received wisdom. Autonomy and ability of regional institutions to select teachers should be respected. The suggestions for greater regulation and having a quality audit merit consideration but the HRD Ministry may use regulation to push its saffron agenda.  While respecting the functional freedom of private schools, colleges and universities, certain regulatory measures can be mutually agreed upon with a credible dispute resolving authority in place. The committee, headed by former Cabinet Secretary TSR Subramanian, has stressed the recall of the no-fail policy. It has reiterated what 15 states and many concerned citizens have already demanded. What needs to be done is to extend the State’s role from being a mere education provider to a facilitator. Giving needy students vouchers and a choice to choose their school is better than funding schools that don’t function. Technology can be used to spread quality education far and wide. The committee pleads for throwing the doors open to foreign universities. This should have been done two decades ago. Today online courses are available from reputed universities, even from Harvard, Stanford and MIT, enabling students to “sign up, view lectures and submit homework from anywhere in the world”, as Nandan Nilekani puts it. Good quality, videotaped lectures are also available for school students. There is “EkStep”, which offers the basic concepts of literacy and numeracy for children. Salman Khan’s Academy is an alternative model for school-level education. Teachers in this system do not teach but act as mentors and sort out students’ problems in understanding, if any. Nandan Nilekani has argued that it is possible to use technology to “teach the next generation” at an affordable cost. The Central and state governments need to change their set ideas and attitudes before changing education.

Lt Gen KJ Singh, Western Command chief, addresses media at military station in Samba. A Tribune Photo

Our Correspondent

Samba, May 25

The Army has lauded the alert citizens of the country and said they have always played a great role in foiling the nefarious designs of anti-national elements.“There are security related problems which are disturbing. The Army is well-prepared and focused to prevent any untoward incident and will not allow the anti-social elements to succeed as it has thwarted all such attacks in the past and neutralised militants successfully,” Lt Gen KJ Singh, Western Command chief, said on the sidelines of a volleyball tournament in Samba recently.“We are prepared to deal with any kind of situation. We have put in place a necessary mechanism to ensure that the anti-national elements do not succeed in their designs. We have not allowed militants to succeed in their designs anywhere, be it Dinanagar, Pathankot air base or any other place,” the Western Command chief said.Lauding the role of the alert Indians, whom he called ‘jagruk Hindustanis’, linking them with Jagruk Hindustani Volleyball Premiere League, Lt General Singh said the alert Indians had always played a great role in foiling the terror attacks.“In all terrorist attacks, the citizen or ‘jagruk Hindustani’ has had a role to play. Whether it was in Dinanagar in Punjab, where a milkman pointed out the explosive that had been placed on the railway track, or in Udhampur, where two civilians captured Pakistani militant Mohammad Naved,” he said.With regard to the detection of a tunnel on the international border in the RS Pura sector of Jammu, he said it had helped avert a major tragedy and “we have to remain extra vigilant”.

Vijay Mohan

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 18

Over 13 years after it was launched to provide comprehensive medical care to retired armed forces personnel and their dependants, the Ex-servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS) is today faced with a severe shortage of medical staff and funds.Against an authorised strength of 322 medical specialists for ECHS polyclinics, only 128 are posted there (a deficiency of around 60 per cent), according to information released by the Ministry of Defence this month.The shortage of medical officers and paramedical staff is around 26 per cent. There are 700 doctors against the authorised strength of 955 and 1,872 paramedical personnel against the required 2,523.Launched in April 2003, the ECHS caters to a clientele of 47 lakh beneficiaries across the country through a network of 420 polyclinics and 1,445 empanelled civilian hospitals. The situation is not healthy on the fiscal front either. Against a projection of Rs 3,600 crore under the ECHS revenue head for 2016-17, only Rs 2,363.54 crore has been allocated. Under the capital head, Rs 30 crore has been allocated for this fiscal against the projection of Rs 50 crore.“In comparison to what we got last year, funds have been drastically cut this year. We have been sanctioned less than what we were expecting and it will be difficult for us to pull through for the entire year. We will require additional funding,” a representative of the ECHS has been quoted as saying in the latest report by Parliament’s standing committee on defence.The Financial Adviser (Defence Services) said this was the first year of rationalising grants and the provision of funds for the ECHS would be taken care of at a later stage. The ECHS was covered under the Army budget earlier.

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Steamship Komagata Maru is approached by officials at Vancouver port, Canada, in this undated handout photo. reuters

Toronto, May 18

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Wednesday tendered a formal apology in his country’s House of Commons, 102 years after the Komagata Maru incident where the government of the day turned away 376 Indians, mostly Sikhs, seeking a better life in Canada.(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)“Mr Speaker, today I rise in this House to offer an apology on behalf of the Government of Canada, for our role in the Komagata Maru incident,” Trudeau said in the House, with descendants of the ship’s passengers in the galleries. “No words can fully erase the suffering of Komagata Maru victims. Today, we apologise and recommit to doing better.” The Komagata Maru, a Japanese steamship, arrived in Vancouver in mid-May 1914, after leaving Hong Kong in early April. The ship, however, was not allowed to dock. After an almost two-month standoff, which also involved feisty demonstrations by ethnic Indians on Vancouver’s shores, the ship was eventually turned away. When it reached Calcutta, British colonial authorities attempted to seize suspected radicals on board. The semi-riot that ensued saw security forces kill at least 19 passengers.A 1908 Canadian law at the time forbade arrivals of immigrants in the country who did not make a “continuous journey” from their nation of birth or citizenship. A painful chapter in the history of Sikhs in Canada, the incident also highlighted the discriminatory immigration policies Canada had followed against Asian immigrants in the 19th century.In 2008, then PM Stephen Harper had apologised to the Sikh community, but the Sikh-Canadians had demanded a formal apology in the House of Commons. Trudeau-led Liberal Party, which has four Sikh ministers in the Cabinet, had promised a formal apology during the election campaign last year. — Agencies

Canadian PM apologises for Komagata Maru in House

Legal Correspondent

New Delhi, May 18

The Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to consider a plea for increasing the number of vehicles allowed to ply between Manali and Rohtang Pass to meet the demand during the tourism season.On May 9, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) had capped the number of vehicles at 1,200 a day–800 run on petrol and 400 on diesel–to minimise air pollution that was adversely affecting the Himalayan glaciers. The NGT also set a stiff deadline for phasing out petrol and diesel vehicles, replacing them with those run on compressed natural gas (CNG).Appearing for the Himachal Pradesh government, Additional Advocate General (AAG) Suryanarayana Singh told the summer vacation Bench of Justices AM Sapre and Ashok Bhushan that about 35 lakh tourists were expected to visit Rohtang Pass during the season and their requirements would not be met even if all 1,200 vehicles were buses.There was violence in the region last year as taxi drivers and operators had gone on an agitation to protest against the curbs which had affected their livelihood. The state government wanted to avoid recurrence of such problems this year, he pleaded.The Bench was hearing a petition by the Him Aanchal Taxi Operators Union and another challenging various NGT orders. The Bench advised the petitioner’s senior counsel Vibha Datta Makhija to file an appeal against the latest NGT order passed on May 9. Makhija said she would do so either on Wednesday or Thursday, upon which the Bench posted the matter for hearing on May 23.Arguing for the Centre, Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar said efforts were being made to start CNG supply by the Indraprastha Gas Limited in the region, but the state government should first come up with a viable business model for the purpose. NGT had pointed out that the state government was found wanting in anti-pollution measures, he said.Makhija contended that there was no logic in placing restrictions on vehicles as hydropower stations were the main polluters. Air pollution caused by just one such station was more than the toxic fumes of all vehicles put together, she pleaded.It was also unfair that diesel and petrol vehicles were sought to be banned only in the region where the air pollution was less than the permissible limit and among the lowest in the country, she argued.The Bench, however, observed that this was due to the need to protect the environment of the Himalayas. It also advised the Centre, the state government and the stakeholders to sit together and come up with viable solutions.