Rat Menace Grips the Armed Forces

Armed Forces Medical Services tasked to reduce rat population
New Delhi: Army is searching for a Pied Piper in Ladakh where rats are gobbling up its ration which reaches there through a long and arduous supply route. The Indian Army stocks supplies for winter in the summer itself as the road links to higher altitudes remains cut-off from the rest of the country in winter due to heavy snowfall for around six months.
As the roads are too narrow, they take the help of mules to carry these rations and other essential supplies to an altitude of over 15,000 feet. Since there is significant rodent infestation in the Army settlements in higher altitudes, the Medical Research Wing of the Armed Forces Medical Services are going to undertake a study to find out the extent of the problem of rodent nuisance in eastern and western Ladakh armed forces settings.
"Rats cause a great deal of nuisance everywhere. They spoil precious stocks, lead to nuisance and also spread diseases. Army settlements in higher altitudes are not spared from this as these rats are spoiling the winter stocks.
"All conventional methods of controlling them are not as effective as they are in the plains," Lieutenant General Naresh Kumar, Commandant, Army Hospital Research and referral and officiating DGAFMS said.
Conventional methods exist to control rodent nuisance like rat traps, rodenticides and repellents have failed in Ladakh. "Carrying rations and other essential supplies to an altitude of over 15,000 feet is no easy task. As such we have decided to conduct a study to identify the problem of rodent nuisance in eastern Ladakh and western Ladakh in Armed Forces setting and evaluate various methods to control them for effective management of their infestation in our areas in eastern and western Ladakh," Major General Mandeep Singh, ADG, Medical Research, Armed Forces Medical Services said.
Rats not only waste our food grains like wheat, rice and atta but they also cause a great deal of nuisance by scampering, running around and making noise.
And needless to say they are carriers of various diseases, he said.
"None of these conventional methods are of help to us. In the study that will be undertaken, we will concentrate on three aspects. We will look for measures to identify the most effective technique to control the nuisance spread by rats.
While looking into the various nuisance spread by them we will also find if they have the potential to spread diseases," Lieutenant Colonel Dennis Abraham, preventive medicine specialist said.
"These rats never were present here in the higher altitudes or came in with the food stock in trucks and gradually breeded in large quantities -- all these details need to be found out.
"There is no established study of rodent nuisance in higher altitudes," he said. PTI
Army is searching for a Pied Piper in Ladakh

Comment: Chinese love Rats. Mr Zhang's restaurant is as trendy as they serve rat dishes. The 15-table, two-story eatery is a mixture of blond wood furniture, stucco walls and wooden lattice laced with plastic vines. What we need to do is trade rats with PLA Soldiers in exchange for critical food items.

Soldiers ate expiry dated food- Sliding Standards of ASC

Two soldiers preparing their food.
The Comptroller and Auditor general (CAG) has exposed a rampant scam in the rationing management of the Indian Army. According to CAG, soldiers consume rice, atta, tea, sugar, dal, oil etc 6 to 28 months after the expiry date of ESL (Estimated Storage Life). The main villains behind the scams are Army Service Corps and Army Purchase Organisation, reported CAG officials. They also suggested that the Army HQ and Ministry of Defence need to act together to supply good quality rations to the soldiers.
Big scam in Indian Army- soldiers ate expiry dated food!

Rakhsa Mantri's response
A week after government auditors exposed Army supplying stale food to jawans, Union Defence Minister A K Antony on Saturday gave an assurance that efforts were in progress to improve quality of rations given to them.

In his message to the armed forces personnel on the eve of 64th Independence Day broadcast over radio, Antony said necessary provisions had also been made for supplying special rations for jawans deployed in counter-insurgency operations and high-altitude areas.

"The government has taken several welfare measures for the defence personnel. We are making efforts to improve the quality of atta, rice, vegetables, tea, pulses and other items. Similarly, we have made a provision for special rations to troops deployed in counter-insurgency operations. Special rations have also been authorised for additional troops serving in high-altitude areas above 12,000 feet," he said in his address.

The Comptroller and Auditor General had in its report last week slammed the defence ministry for supplying rotting food items that were unfit for human consumption to jawans, particularly those in Jammu and Kashmir and North East.
After CAG rap, Antony promises quality rations to jawans- August 14, 2010 20:56 IST

Citizens Voice
It is his duty.
by skumar rudr on Aug 15, 2010 03:48 PM
Dear Anthony sir,
Let us remind you that it is your duty as a minister to provide good quality food. You sound as if you are making a favour by promising quality rations. I think the same ration which was supplied to the armed forces should be provided to your and your corrupt ministers. Mr Prime minister, it is a shame on your government that several scandals like Telecom, Common wealth games etc have emerged and you congratulate yourself for being the third longest serving prime minister.

Zero tolerance for corruption in Army: Antony

Additional Rs 3000 for disabled pensioners
Read Maj Navdeep Singh comments: Click here
Posted On: 05-Jun-2010 13:57:19 By: Aakash Singh
Lucknow: Claiming that army personnel should follow the policy of Zero Tolerance towards corruption and refrain from making any Human Rights violation, Defence minister A K Antony today announced an additional payment of Rs 3000 per month to army personnel who retired on disability pension.

"Keeping in view the valour and sacrifice made by the army personnel, those who retired on disabled ground would get an additional Rs 3000 per month as constant attendant in additional to the disability pension," announced the minister while addressing the Army personnel during his day long visit to the Central Command Headquarters here.

He said some armed forces personnel were retained in service despite a disability that was attributed, or aggravated by military service, who forego a lump-sum compensation in lieu of disability.

"Now it has been decided to grant these army personnel as a disability element or war injury element at the time of their retirement or discharge in additional to pension and gratuity besides the constant attendant allowances of Rs 3000 per month," he disclosed.

Mr Antony said adopting Zero Tolerance towards corruption and refraining from Human Rights violation will substantially enhance the image of the Army and remove any existing misgivings.

''There is no doubt that the defence and security of the nation is in safe hands and all of your will always continue to preserve the glorious traditions of the Indian Army,'' he told the army personnel in his address.

"I urge the Commanders to think and devise ways and means to be more accessible to jawans beside there is also an urgent need to provide the best possible education facilities for the children of the defence personnel," he said.

Talking about the hardships faced by the army jawans and officers in the extremely difficult conditions and inhospitable terrain, Mr Antony said that keeping this in view the government had taken several welfare measures for the defence personnel including improvement quality of ration.

"We remain firmly committed to build upon and carry forward these measures and do a lot more for the all-round welfare of our jawans in future," he added.
Zero tolerance for corruption in Army: Antony

Can remaining apolitical reduce corruption and enhance National Security?
According to Raja Mohan, General Singh will have to check corruption in the Indian Army for the purpose of retaining public confidence and present the army as an attractive career option for young Indians. Civilian control of the Indian military has raised concerns about the role of the Army in contributing to the national security.
The apolitical nature of the army is attacked by Lt. Gen. Oberoi in direct terms, “The military also needs to modify the concept of being apolitical. The army’s long standing stance of keeping a distance from the leaders of political parties other than those of the party in power needs to be modified.
Read More
Views on ‘apolitical’ Character of the Indian Army By madhavibhasin Wednesday, April 7 4:00

Questions for the Veteran Community
Can Veterans assist in combating overall corruption in the Nation by being apolitical?
Or should Political leanings be dynamic depending on the merit of the Political Parties?
This is an endless debate... Veterans are the cream and patriotic citizens of the Nation and therefore need to listen to their inner conscience and not be swayed by blindly pursuing a static "apolitical role" which can be degenerative... as political parties keep changing their stance and are steeply embedded in undemocratic and corrupt norms... each election changes the equations of the power corridors...
Do very large numbers of ESM (as members) indicative of the organisation's strength to work for their common good and welfare?
Is locus standi with Power Corridors essential if ESM organisations are Registered under the Indian Society Act of 1860?
Are the Power Corridors truly democratic? If so why are all the favourable court rulings initially scuttled?
Should Veteran welfare organisations work in tandem or at crossroads?

Caution
Burning through or increasing or claiming/ clamouring for ESM membership in lakhs is not a decent approach to keeping our Veteran community active. It’s the worst thing you can do. You only develop transient relationships at best and, eventually, you run out of fresh blood and steam. It’s like a bad pyramid scheme. (A pyramid scheme is a non-sustainable business model that involves the exchange of money primarily for enrolling other people into the scheme, without any product or service being delivered.)

The best indicator of an ESM organisational strength and survival is how many active members you have? How many members have been participating for the last two years? A single active veteran is worth 1000 inactive members, maybe even a 1,00,000 dormant ones some of whom are not even traceable after 3 years. ESM organisations who depend only on numbers are certain to fail the Veteran community at large. Organisations have to take action today so that they will develop active ESM participation three years hence. Spend more time responding to welfare issues of members rather than raking up frivolous unconnected issues against others. ESM Organisations need to carry out an audit of their achievements rather than running down other brother organisations to score a brownie point! We need to remember our basic mission is Justice for our Jawans.

MoD: PIB Press Releases

Ministry of Defence
Shelling on line of control
Year-wise details of ceasefire violations along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu & Kashmir, including incidents of shelling since 2006 are given below...
Resettlement of Ex-Servicemen
There is no proposal to extend minimum pensionary benefits to the ex-servicemen who render less than 15 years of service...Important inputs and information presented to Lok Sabha in variance to ground realities! Number of ESM trained/ self employed/ resettled or details PBORs who have availed of facilities and concessions? DGR does not have the crucial statistics?
Utilisation of Defence Lands
Defence land is meant primarily for various defence needs. The requirement of defence land is gradually increasing and hence cannot be frozen at... What about Defence lands already encroached upon and its eviction status? Exploitation of Defence Lands: click me
NCC Units in Senior Secondary Schools
The Government does not propose to set up National Cadet Corps (NCC) Units in all Senior Secondary Schools in the country...
Sale of troops ration in open market
During the period from 2006 to 2009, one case of pilferage of special rations meant for Army to certain civilian shops at Chumathang in Ladakh region by personnel of a Unit in July, 2007 was ...
Review of Defence Procurement Policy
There is a provision of periodical review of Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP) every two years...
Condition of families of martyrs
Number of soldiers from various states killed on duty (Battle Casualties) during the last three years are as under...

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