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A tribute to Lance Naik Kesur Vanvi and all Jawans who are posted in High Altitude Areas

 

Dear Indians,
Please take pride in Being Indian and Share the tale of a Brave Indian Martyr. Lance Naik Kesur Ramabhai Vanvi, 33 of 221 Field Artillery Regiment died Friday, August 25, 2017 while doing what he was proudest of; serving his country in the Army 221 field Regiment. In the morning of 25 August he had a severe headache. He was also feeling dizziness, was at loss of breath and was sweating very heavily too. He straightaway went to the Army doctor, who diagnosed him with high Blood pressure, may be a major stroke was on. The Doctor immediately called for an Air Ambulance. Lance Naik Kesur insisted he was alright and there was no need for an emergency evacuation, But the Doctor knew about the seriousness of the situation. Kesur was air lifted in an Army Aviation Helicopter but mid air Blood started oozing out from his nose and ears, his heart was pounding heavily blood pressure was enormous and suddenly he fell unconscious. The doctors at Leh Military Hospital pronounced him dead on arrival. Postmortem at the medical college revealed the cause of death as ‘stroke’.

Lance Naik Kesur Vanvi was posted at mountainous high altitude terrain of Drass since last 17 months. His unit location at Drass being a non-family station, just like most of his colleagues in the Army, Kesur was also staying without his bellowed wife at those forbidden heights. Kesur’s unit is posted at such a remote location that there aren’t any mobile towers in that area. The Jawans have to reach out to a nearby STD Booth to be able to talk to their near and dear ones.

Married since last 13 years kesur and his wife were deprived of the joy of being parents. Every time when Lance Naik Kesur used to come on leave, their time is spent on visiting places of worship, praying for a small gift from the almighty. Very recently, after so many years of various treatments and change of doctors, the couple received the ‘good news’ ‘she was finally pregnant with their first child.’ In his last phone call, Kesur promised her that he would be back before her delivery date to be with her and to welcome their bundle of joy.

But the almighty had another plans; He took away the only man of her life even before the joy of having the little one in their awaiting hands is shared. Lance Naik Kesur Vanvi has left behind a bereaved pregnant wife and crying old age parents. A child who has not even seen the light of day, has lost its father. Uncertainty and bleak future awaits the little one of the diseased soldier.

This is not the first such casualty of his unit a Naib Subedar saab who was posted in Rashtriya Riffles (RR) was on patrolling duty the whole night. The patrolling party came back at around 04 o’clock in the morning. They all sat together and had their last tea that morning. Naib Subedar saab went for a nap, never to wake up and to ascend into the deepest sleep forever.

In the year 1984, Pakistan invaded Siachen, in the year 1999 The back stabbing neighbours broke Simla accord, invaded and fortified Kargil, Drass and Batalik and the rest we know is history. Since then the Indian Army has been forced to keep the areas manned throughout the year. Earlier, India and Pakistan used to withdraw troops from the very high altitude areas during treacherous winter and send the troops again to occupy those posts once the snow starts melting.

The high altitude of Himalayas is one of the prime killers of our soldiers besides Kashmir insurgency being the first one. Those treacherous mountains have a unique combination of thin air and freezing temperatures that has been challenging human abilities to survive in extreme weather conditions.

The phenomenon of thin air, caused by low barometric pressure, is the only environmental condition unique to high terrestrial altitude. It imposes several physical stresses on men.

The partial pressure of oxygen falls as well, producing arid air that holds significantly less water vapor and reducing the amount of oxygen available to human tissue. Hypoxia, the reduction of oxygen supply to tissue, occurs at elevations above 5,000 feet. Hypoxia can lead to several illnesses, some of which can prove fatal, as well as less severe physiological effects.

Even the most physically fit men exhibit muscular weakness and a loss of neuromuscular control above 15000 feet. The atmosphere affects vision in several ways. Soldiers lose much of their natural night vision above 8000 feet. Retinal hemorrhaging, bleeding from blood vessels in the eyes, affects over half of all soldiers at 18,000 feet. The drastic increase in ultraviolet light can cause snow blindness and severe sunburn. The healing time of wounds increases due to lack of oxygen, in body tissues.

Lance Naik Kesur Vanvi’s close buddy L/Nk Jitendra remembers his friend with saddened eyes, “I have never seen in my life a more obedient and disciplined soldier like Kesur.” We both joined the Army in the year 2003 and were posted in the same battery. Retired Havaldar Nakumbhai of his unit proudly states that Kesur made a lasting impression on everyone he met with his charm, which was only surpassed by the size of his heart. His energy, mischief, kindness and the zest for life are what his friends and family will remember most.

Kesur will forever be loved by those of us that he left behind. He is survived by his parents and wife all living in Umbari villege of Gir Somnath district of Gujarat. He will also be missed by the many friends he touched that we now consider family. We will all miss the joy and love that he brought into our lives, and we couldn’t be more proud of him. His last rites were carried out with National honor and Guard of Honor by the Indian Army on 28 August. People from nearby towns and villages flocked the streets of Umbri villege. The nationalistic feelings and sadness of losing a son was evident from their LOUD chants of ‘BHARAT MATA KI JAI’ and ‘KESUR BHAI AMAR RAHE’.

We consider a soldier as martyr, only when he dies receiving a bullet. But, let me elaborate this very clearly this time. “Each and every soldier who loses his life in the line of his duty is a martyr.” In forbidden heights of the Himalayas, High Altitude and oxygen less air combine to make the environment a potent adversary. The physical and psychological stresses of high altitude degrade all soldiers overtime, even those who are acclimated to it.

The biggest irony of a soldier is that when he happily sacrifices his life for the nation, those whom he has left behind are stranded to fend for themselves. The government of the day sometimes announces some financial aid, so does the Army but there is no National Policy for rehabilitation and resettlement of such families.

There are government institutions at central, state and Zilla level for taking care of the retired Jawans as well as the Veer Naries but they function like white elephants and have no accountability. The sainik boards and DGR are answerable to none!

“Hum na soche hame kya mila hain.. Ham ye soche kiya kya hai arpan…”

ॐ Shanti.. Shanti...

PETTY OFFICER MANAN BHATT, VETERAN
sainikswaraj@gmail.com

Shocked and disgusted': Uproar over death of Kargil martyr's wife who was denied treatment

  NEW DELHI: There is rising uproar over the death of a Kargil martyr's wife in Sonipat in Haryana who was allegedly denied treatment because she did not have an Aadhaar card.
Stating how such incidents impact the morale of the armed forces, VN Thapar, father or Kargil martyr Vijayant Thapar said: "Shocked at the disgusting news. We've become so indifferent to human life! These are the kind of things that hit the morale of armed forces."
The incident has raised a sense of unease among the families of other martyrs. "I can't imagine it happened. It makes me scared for my family. I have ECHS benefits but connecting it to Aadhaar card and submitting a copy of it is ridiculous," daughter of Kargil martyr Major CB Dwivedi said.
The government has assured a probe into the incident. "The state government should take this matter seriously. Our ministry will conduct a probe into it. Centre has also asked all states to implement 'Clinical Establishments Act' which will help us reduce such incidents," MoS Health Ashwini Kumar Choubey said.
A Kargil martyr's wife was on Friday taken to the hospital in a serious condition. Her family has claimed that when the hospital asked for an Aadhaar card, her son showed an e-copy but the hospital demanded the original card before admitting her.
"I brought my mother in a serious condition to the hospital. They asked me to get the Aadhaar card. But I didn't have it then so I showed them a copy on my phone," said Pavan Kumar, the deceased woman's son.
“I said that I will get Aadhaar in an hour or so but at least start the treatment but the hospital refused to do so,” said Kumar.
The hospital management, however, has refuted all allegations of denying treatment but admitted that Aadhaar is necessary for documentation.
“We never denied them treatment. He never got the patient to the hospital. We have never stopped any treatment due to Aadhaar card ever. It is mandatory, not for treatment, but for documentation process,” a doctor at the hospital said.

Confusion between Modified Assured Career Progression Scheme (MACP) and Military Service Pay (MSP) and the need to ignore unnecessary rumours and false hopes

Confusion between Modified Assured Career Progression Scheme (MACP) and Military Service Pay (MSP) and the need to ignore unnecessary rumours and false hopes

There are certain messages floating on social and other media that the Supreme Court of India has passed directions to pay ‘Military Service Pay’ with effect from January 2006 rather than from 2008 as was granted by the Government.

This is incorrect and there are no such directions. People are probably confusing the recent judgment on Modified Assured Career Progression Scheme (MACP) with the concept of Military Service Pay (MSP). Even otherwise, de hors the absence of any such decision, no parallel can be drawn between the two issues.

As explained in the post of 12 December 2017, the Sixth Central Pay Commission had recommended the implementation of the ‘Modified Assured Career Progression’ Scheme (MACP) providing for the grant of three financial upgradations of pay at the gap of 8, 16 and 24 years of service in case of stagnation, for the defence services.

The Special Army Instructions (SAI) on the subject had also been issued with effect from 01 January 2006 and which contained therein the stipulation of MACP. However later, despite the existence of the said SAI, another fresh letter was issued by the Government stating that MACP will be prospectively implemented from 01 September 2008.

Hence ultimately, unlike other pay related modalities which were implemented with effect from 01 January 2006, MACP was implemented with effect from 01 September 2008, thereby not including in its scope the personnel who were released from service between the two dates. The Chandigarh Bench of the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) however ruled that the pay commission had granted all pay and pension related benefits from January 2006 and the prospective implementation was only effectuated for ‘allowances’ and hence MACP was also to be implemented from January 2006 since it pertained to upgradation of pay. While ordering so, the AFT had followed the decision of the Punjab & Haryana High Court which had earlier ruled upon the implementation of improved pay-scales of defence personnel from 1996 rather than 1997 in an anomaly emanating out of the Fifth Pay Commission. The decision of the AFT was challenged by the Government in the Supreme Court but the Apex Court dismissed the appeal filed by the Union of India thereby upholding the grant of MACP from 01 January 2006 rather than 01 September 2008.

The aspect to be noted however in the above is that in case of MSP, the pay commission had itself noted that it shall be applied prospectively without any arrears (Para 2.3.12 of the 6^th Central Pay Commission Report). Further when the SAI 1/S/2008 was issued, while it applied benefits of all modalities from 2006 (including MACP), it had specifically stated in Paragraph 5(d) that arrears of MSP shall only be paid with effect from 01 September 2008. There was no such negative stipulation for MACP. Further MACP was a replacement for the earlier ACP while MSP was completely a new element.

Hence, as the above would show, while the MACP was applied from 2006 but later tacitly retrospectively withdrawn and made applicable from 2008- an action was at the heart of the debate in Courts, there was no such controversy with regard to MSP which was always meant to be paid prospectively from September 2008.

Though at the surface both issues might appear to be similar to the untrained eye, there is actually absolutely no parallel between the concepts of MACP and MSP, and hence it is in the interest of sanity to ignore messages being circulated that MSP arrears will be paid to all personnel with effect from 01 January 2006. One should avoid forwarding such messages since it may promote unnecessary litigation and propel false hopes.

The above is not in the form of legal advice but merely my humble opinion since a litigious society is not in anybody’s interest.

COURTESY : Maj Navdeep Singh

HC Invalidate 40-year-old ‘fictitious Diploma notification’ for ex-servicemen

CHANDIGARH: Finding a 40-year-old notification issued by the central government, equating an engineering diploma and 10-year service in defence forces to a bachelor's degree in engineering, fictitious, the Punjab and Haryana high court on Friday ordered the Haryana government to withdraw benefits availed of by ex-servicemen on the basis of the said notification.
The order will have a huge ramification across the country as a large number of ex-servicemen with a diploma in engineering and appointed junior engineers in various states were promoted to higher posts on the basis of the notification, allegedly issued on May 26, 1977 by the Centre.
The high court found that the document used as the notification since 1977 was in fact "an unsigned document and did not qualify even to be termed as an office memorandum."
Justice Ajay Tewari has passed these orders while disposing of a petition filed by Sirsa resident, Salaudeen and several other officers posted as sub-divisional engineers/assistant engineers in the Haryana Vidyut Prasaran Nigam Limited (HVPNL).
The court also ordered the HVPNL to quash its seniority list, which was prepared by considering claims of ex-servicemen on the basis of the "1977 notification" and directed it to re-frame the seniority list after withdrawing the benefits granted to the ex-servicemen. The Haryana government has been given six months to complete the entire exercise.
In this case, several ex-servicemen had applied for appointment as junior engineers in 2004-2005. At the time, they all had a diploma in engineering and 10 years' experience.
They, however, did not claim to be degree holders and were appointed as diploma holders. Six years later, when the case of promotion to the post of assistant engineer was to be considered, the rules provided for a quota of 12 ½% to persons who held a degree or an equivalent qualification.
At that stage, the ex-servicemen started claiming that in view of their diploma and their 10-year experience they were entitled to be considered as degree holders in view of the Centre "notification" dated May 26, 1977. Following that, they all were promoted in view of the notification.
Their promotion was challenged by other officers with an engineering degree on the ground that no such notification had been issued by the Centre.
Their contention was that by this fraudulent action, the ex-servicemen had stolen a march over them and consequently not only were they required to relinquish that benefit, they are also liable to be proceeded against.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com 

ADVANCE LETTER SENT BY NFOESM FOR EQUAL MSP TO JCO/OR

MEETTE MEETTE BATHOM AUR KYA CHAHIYE

Keeping in mind the toughest job of indian armed forces msp was implemented from 2006.As 6th pay commission has recommended military service pay for armed forces. Subsequently msp of Rs.2000/- per month was implemented. But that value was very meager w.r.t the nature of job of indian Armed forces.Hence demands were further uplifted regarding the hike in MSP for Indian Armed Forces. After the implementation of 7th pay commission , this value was raised to Rs.5200/- per month.

Now on the eve of New year , the ORs of Indian Armed Forces are ready to get further hike on Military Service Pay upto Rs.10400/-. Residing on the Pin point of Gun these Armed forces will get double MSP. Army General Bipin Rawat has given his assent on this Double MSP. After the completion of formalities by the finance ministry , these hiked rates may be implemented from next month.As we all know that as per implementation of 7th pay commission the revised rates of the MSP are Rs.5200/- per month. As you may know that this rate are different for Officers and Ors despite being the same level of toughness.

As we all know that National Anomaly Committee is working on the abnormalities faced by the Central Govt Employees. The issue of MSP was also included as an abnormality in NAC list. According to higher officials of Indian Army, NAC has assent on the Double MSP for Ors of Indian Armed Forces.Green stick has been shown by the army General in this regards. Now the balancing issue are of Finance ministry, after which it will be implemented.
One point Should be noted that there is no change in Rates of Military Service Pay MSP for Ranks other than ORs. As we all know this rate is Rs.15,500/- for Officers having Rank of Brigadier and more.Also this rate of Military Service Pay MSP pegged at Rs.10,800/- for Military Nursing Service MNS. http://www.sarkariadmi.com/defence-forces