New Delhi: The government on Monday announced that it has credited revised pensionary benefits along with arrears under One Rank-One Pension (OROP) scheme to more than 2 lakh pensioners drawing service and disability pensions.As to the more than 1.46 lakh family pensioners, the government will credit the new benefits by the end of this month, the Defence Ministry said. “The amount along with first instalment of arrears has been released and credited to the accounts of these pensioners on March 1, 2016,” a statement said. PTI

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, March 12

A day after Col AS Salathiya, Commanding Officer of a Battalion stationed at Jalandhar Cantonment, got booked by the city police on the charges of abetment to suicide of his cook, the court of inquiry has been marked to Brig Anurag of the 350 Brigade.The defence PRO today issued a press release saying that the members doing the Court of Inquiry have established contact with the family members and will conduct it at the earliest. The release also reads, “A high-level Staff Court of Inquiry has been ordered into the suicide of Sepoy (Cook) Lakhwinder Singh of 112 Infantry Battalion Territorial Army (Dogra) Battalion located at Jalandhar Cant. Army will conduct an impartial inquiry into circumstances under which the Sepoy committed suicide on March 10 in his official accommodation.”Meanwhile, the city police have shot off a missive to GOC of Vajra Corps to hand over his custody to the police. SHO Jalandhar Cantonment Baljinder Singh said, “We have written to the corps commander to handover the custody of the Colonel. There is every possibility that they will hold the inquiry at their own level first. We will get a final word from them on Monday.”

JAWAN’S SUICIDE: ARMY ORDERS COURT OF INQUIRY

ALANDHAR: A day after police charged a colonel with abetting the suicide of a jawan deputed with him in the cantonment area, the army also ordered a court of inquiry on Saturday. Victim Lakhwinder Singh (32), a 112 Dogra jawan from Sangyal in Hoshiarpur district and a cook in the house of colonel AS Salathya, had hanged himself on Thursday. In a press release issued here, the army said members of the court of inquiry had contacted the jawan’s family, which says that on Wednesday night, the colonel had abused Lakhwinder Singh and threatened to fire his son.

A snowcutter clears snow near Zojila on the Srinagar-Leh highway. A Tribune photo

Arteev Sharma

Tribune News Service

Jammu, March 11

Less snowfall has turned out to be a blessing in disguise for the arid Ladakh region this year as the strategic 434-km Srinagar-Kargil-Leh highway, the lifeline of the country’s cold desert, is likely to be opened to traffic by March 25, almost one and a half months earlier than its opening last year.The highway usually remains closed for more than five months from December to first week of May due to accumulation of heavy snow at Zojila — the gateway to the Ladakh region. This time around Zojila experienced less snowfall, hence teams of Project BEACON and Project Vijayak were able to clear the snow almost one and a half months before the normal schedule.The highway that traverses through two mountain ranges was closed for vehicular movement in December last year. The road first crosses the Great Himalayan range at Zojila and then the Zanskar mountain range at Fatula to enter into Ladakh.The Zojila witnesses a maximum standing snow of around 5-6 metres every year and the temperature sometimes plummets to minus 28 to minus 25 degree Celsius.“Essential clearances on the highway, which falls under our jurisdiction, are over. We have already cleared the snow for one-way traffic while passes are being created to clear the two-way traffic. Due to the prevailing inclement weather, which is expected to continue till March 15, we are hopeful of clearing the road for traffic by the end of this month,” Brigadier AK Das, Chief Engineer, Project BEACON, told The Tribune over phone.The Chief Engineer said the highway was thrown open to traffic on May 13 last year. “This time, we have also cleared the snow from Rajdan Pass till the Gurez region of Kashmir and it will also be opened in April. Last year, this pass was opened on May 20,” he added.The Centre had recently started the exercise for the construction of South East Asia’s longest tunnel (14.08-km) connecting Sonamarg with the Gumri area in Kargil district.Following allegations of favouritism, the Centre had terminated the contract awarded to IRB Infrastructure Developers and announced that the rebidding process would be completed in the next three months.

Snow clearance

• The highway usually remains closed for more than five months from December to first week of May due to accumulation of heavy snow at Zojila — the gateway to the Ladakh region
• This time Zojila experienced less snowfall, hence teams of Project BEACON and Project Vijayak were able to clear the snow almost one and a half months ahead of normal schedule

Well most Mumbaikars don’t know the art of living. We know the art of surviving, the traffic, the pollution and the noise that comes with this city. One could say living here is an art in itself.

So I’m not going to comment on the merits of a World Culture Festival someone wants to have in a reserved forest. This is not something that concerns me. What does concern me and should ideally concern all of us is that the Indian Army’s Corps of Engineers being asked to build temporary bridges across the Yamuna for this event.

These bridges will be dismantled after the event is over, so there is no real net infrastructure gain for the public as well. The last time we had to call the Army in to do last minute civilian infrastructure work was during the Commonwealth Games when the Corps of Engineers had to replace foot-over bridges that collapsed prior to the event. But the thing is those went on to become permanent infrastructure elements. The foot-over bridges exist today.

Yes, the Indian Army provides infrastructure support for the Amarnath Yatra and the Kumbh Mela. The former because of its location and the later because of the fact that the Kumbh Mela is something civilian authorities cannot handle on their own. Owing to the fact that it is attended by by over 120 million people, that’s more people than the State of Tamil Nadu, actually more people than Maharashtra. It’s about 10 percent of the country’s population, so it makes sense to deploy the Army there. The Amarnath climb is in one of the most in-hospitable climbs on earth and the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir requires the army to be involved as the yatra occurs in the middle of what can be best described as a war zone.

Calling the Indian Army in to aid and assist a civil power is not something that must be done lightly. Apart form the obvious reasons that it demeans the role of the armed forces in our society to be asked to erect bridges for a World Culture Festival, we need to ask ourselves: Why can’t the public works department of the government erect bridges or why it cannot plan in advance to have contractors employed to erect them.

If you look at the website of this ‘World Culture Festival’ you will see that it enjoys support from the Government of Delhi of Delhi; the Department of Arts Culture and Languages, Government of Delhi; the Public Works Department of the Government of Uttar Pradesh and the Government of India. Which official in these departments is accountable for the failure of their department to plan in advance and have contractors build the bridges?

Surely, they would have known well in advance that bridges would be required. The army only comes in to aid a civil war in exceptional circumstances. This is because the President of India is the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces and it is not the other way around. To put it simply, the army works for the civilian government and not the other way around. This is what makes us different from Pakistan, India is not a military State. This means that the civil power only use the aid of the Army in absolute emergency situations, like a flood in Kashmir or where the civil power cannot operate without the aid of the Army like in Ambarnath or the Kumbh Mela.

Calling them to build a bridge across the Yamuna for an event sponsored by two state governments and the central government, an event that was planned well in advance is an absolute national disgrace. Irrespective of the event. The army should not be deployed to work where civilian powers can do the job.

M Parrikar MP, the Defence Minister says the Army was called to build the bridges in to ensure security for attendees. But this does not make sense, we don’t see the Indian army doing infrastructure at the Venkateswara Temple, Tirumala where 30 to 40 million people visit on average in a year.

The Ministry of Defence needs to answer to Parliament why the Indian Army was deployed, the Ministry of Tourism needs to explain why they needed a platoon bridge in the first place, the Public Works Departments of UP and Delhi need to explain why they could not plan for this event in advance and have contractors put up the bridges.

This government is supposed to be about transparent and accountable governance and it’s quite clear there is nothing transparent or accountable in this situation. The Indian army has been deployed in a non-emergency situation. The Defence Minister needs to explain why the Indian army is being used as a public works department.

Also, we need to know who is paying for the deployment of the army? Are we sending the Art of Living foundation a bill for using our armed forces? Minimal accountability means the AOL foundation take responsibility for the costs incurred in deploying the armed forces. The bill for this service should not under any circumstance be borne by the Indian taxpayer.

Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) president Kanhaiya Kumar sparked yet another controversy on Tuesday when, on the occasion of International Women’s Day, he alleged that some Indian army personnel rape women in Jammu and Kashmir.

“No matter how much you try to stop us, we will speak up against human rights violations (in Kashmir). We will raise our voice against AFSPA,” Kanhaiya Kumar said in this video uploaded on YouTube by Zee News.

“While we have a lot of respect for our soldiers, we will talk about the fact that some Indian Army men rape women in Kashmir,” Kanhaiya further said in the video.

Kanhaiya had been arrested on 12 February for allegedly raising anti-national slogans at an event organised on 9 February against the hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru. Kanhaiya was granted interim bail and released from prison later.

On Monday, JNU Registrar Bhupinder Zutshi had claimed that Kanhaiya had objected to cancellation of permission for the controversial 9 February event.

Zutshi, deposing before the high-power enquiry committee constituted by Vice-Chancellor M Jagadesh Kumar, is believed to have said that Kanhaiya Kumar was against the authorities’ decision to cancel permission of the 9 February event during which anti-national slogans were allegedly raised.

“I had called a meeting of JNSU in my office at 3 pm on February 9 to discuss the route for the new bus acquired by JNU for disabled students. Kanhaiya Kumar and Rama Naga (JNUSU General Secretary) reached first. Around 3 pm, we had a discussion on the bus route. After 10 minutes, Saurav Sharma (ABVP member and JNSU joint secretary) also came. We all discussed the bus route for 10 minutes.

“Sharma later showed me a pamphlet regarding the ‘cultural event’ on ‘judicial killing of Afzal Guru’ and said some of the students are organising this event today (February 9, 2016) at 5 pm at Sabarmati Dhaba,” Zutshi has told the committee.

The Registrar has further maintained that when the varsity decided to withdraw the permission, Kanhaiya had called him objecting to the cancellation.

JNU had instituted a disciplinary committee on 10 February to probe into the controversial event. On the basis of the preliminary enquiry report, eight students including Kanhaiya were academically debarred.

The five-member committee which has been granted two extensions for submitting its report is expected to come up with its recommendations by 11 March.

(With inputs from PTI)

Vijay Mohan,Tribune News Service,Chandigarh, March 5

Less than a month after 10 soldiers were buried in an avalanche at the Siachen Glacier, documents reveal several shortcomings in the mountaineering equipment issued to troops deployed in the world’s highest and coldest battlefield. Moreover, technical specifications, issued by Army Headquarters, for some equipment date back to 1980s.Each soldier deployed in Siachen is authorised 55 personal items that include clothes, safety gadgets, protection gear and mountaineering equipment. Many of these are imported.The Master General of Ordnance Branch at Army Headquarters, responsible for procurement of equipment, is in the process of undertaking “product improvement” to provide better quality of equipment which is in tune with the latest such gear available in India and abroad.Some of the new equipment being sought includes face mask, avalanche cords, karabiner screws for anchoring, pulleys for hauling systems, lightweight ascender and descenders for negotiating ice walls, and ice pitons.The avalanche cord that assists in quick detection and rescue of victims does not remain fluorescent and turns blackish in course of time. More soldiers have died in Siachen due to climatic conditions than by enemy fire. Over 870 soldiers have lost their lives due to environmental factors since the operation Meghdoot against Pakistan in 1984.

Life on the edge

• Avalanche cord that assists in quick rescue of victims doesn’t remain fluorescent and turns blackish with time
• Face mask that protects from extreme cold is a three-piece attachment that is tough to handle
• Karabiners, ascenders , descenders and pulleys are highly prone to erosion and have design defects, thus reducing safety and load-carrying capacity
• Posts in Siachen are as high as 22,000 ft and temperatures plunge as low as minus 45°C, thus necessitating special gear

New York, March 1

In a first of its kind lawsuit, a decorated Sikh-American soldier has sued the US military, alleging that because of his religious beliefs he is being subjected to “discriminatory” testing that no other soldier in the US Army goes through.Captain Simratpal Singh, 28, was in December last year granted a temporary religious accommodation to serve in the US Army while maintaining his Sikh turban, unshorn hair and beard.The accommodation, a rare exception, was scheduled to remain in effect until March 31 but in an unprecedented step backward, the US Army recently ordered Singh to report today for “extraordinary, non-standard additional testing as a precondition for remaining in the Army”, international law firm McDermott Will & Emery, representing Singh, said. — PTI

IESM has decided to fight UNDER  mentioned cases in the court as a welfare measure for its members, all expenses will be met by the IESM.

1. Non payment of arrears to JCO, NCOs and ORs from 1 Jan 2006
2. Non payment of pension to Hony ranks equal to regular rank.
3. Broad banding of disability pension

All members who wish to join up in the cases are requested to give their vakalatnama at JM to Sub Maj Verma and Hony Lt K Pandey between 1400h to 1600h every day. IESM had checked with the
lawyer and requested him to file a case for all concerned but he has confirmed that these days Govt is accepting and paying only to litigants. In such a situation it is important that all members are requested to give their Vakalatnama at Jantar Mantar.

These are entirely different cases than OROP which will be taken up only after first payment of OROP is given to all ESM. At present IESM does not need any vakalatnama for OROP case.

One vakalatnama is required for each case you wish to be enrolled. Please sign the vakalatnama as client and leave all other columns blank. Also attach your PPO alongwith the vakalanama so that we get your name and number correctly.

It is once again confirmed that *NO FEE WILL BE CHARGED TO ANY ESM FOR
INCLUSION OF HIS NAME IN THE LIST OF LITIGANTS*. Only requirement is that
they must send their vakalatnama to following address

Indian Ex-Servicemen Movement
H NO 543, SECTOR 23
PALAM VIHAR
GURGAON
122017

*VAKALATNAMA*

IN THE COURT OF ______________________________  ______________________

Suit/Appeal No. ________________________ ______________________
__________________ JURISDICTION  Of  201 ..

In Re:

Name___________________ ____ ______________ ___________   Petitioner/Complainant

VERSUS
______  ______  ________   ______________ _______ Defendant/Respondent/Accused

KNOW ALL to whom these present shall come that I/We ______________   _________ ___________     the above named ______________________   _____________   _________   ________  ________ do hereby appoint

(herein after called the advocate/s) to be my/our Advocate in the above noted case authorized him:-
(a)    To act, appear and plead in the above-noted case in this Court or in any other Court in which the same may be tried or heard and also in the appellate Court including High Court subject of fees separately for each Court by me/us.
(b)   To sign, file verify and present pleadings, appeals cross objections or petitions for execution review, revision, withdrawal, compromise or other petitions or affidavits or other documents as may be deemed necessary or proper for the prosecution of the said case in all its
stages.
(c)      To file and take back documents to admit and/or deny the documents of opposite party.
(d)   To withdraw or compromise the said case or submit to arbitration any differences or disputes that may arise touching or in any manner relating to the said case.
(e)   To take execution proceedings.
(f)    The deposit, draw and receive money, cheques, cash and grant receipts thereof and to do all other acts and things which may be necessary to be done for the progress and in the course of the prosecution of the said case.
(g)    To appoint and instruct any other Legal Practioner, authorizing him to exercise the power and authority hereby conferred upon the Advocate whenever he may think it to do so and to sign the Power of Attorney on our behalf.
(h)    And I/We the undersigned do hereby agree to ratify and confirm all acts done by the Advocate or his substitute in the matter as my/our own acts, as if done by me/us to all intents and purposes.
(i)      And I/We undertake that I/We or my/our duly authorized agent would appear in the Court on all hearings and will inform the Advocates for appearance when the case is called.
(j)     And I/We undersigned do hereby agree not to hold the advocate or his substitute responsible for the result of the said case. The adjournment costs whenever ordered by the Court shall be of the Advocate which he shall receive and retain himself.
(k)    And I/We the undersigned do hereby agree that in the event of the whole or part of the fee agreed by me/us to be paid to the Advocate remaining unpaid he shall be entitled to withdraw from the prosecution of the said case until the same is paid up. The fee settled is only for the
above case and above Court. I /We hereby agree that once the fee is paid.
(l)       I/We will not be entitled for the refund of the same in any case whatsoever. If the case lasts for more than three years, the advocate shall be entitled for additional fee equivalent to half of the agreed fee for every addition three years or part thereof.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF I/We do hereunto set my/our hand to these presents the contents of which have been understood by me/us on this _________2016.

Accepted subject to the terms of fees.                                         (SIGNATURES  )
Client

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