AFVOA Newletters of Year 2005

Page 44 of 75 Construction of permanent building for ECHS Polyclinic at Chennai may please be expedited. by the Govt was Rs 600/- per Sq ft being a technical building. No contractor has come forward as the rate is too low. Re- tendering will be resorted to. If there is no response then the Govt will be approached to increase the rate. Therefore it may take sometime for the building to come up. 27. The President, AFVOA thereafter thanked Lt Gen (Retd) VK Dua, for his lucid and comprehensive presentation on the ECHS. As a token of appreciation, the President requested the Patron, Lt Gen C Sundara Rao to present the memento of the Association along with a copy of “Hello Veteran-2004” to the General Officer. In good humour the MD, ECHS appreciated the audience for its patient hearing and not resorting to any awkward behaviour as it once happened to him while addressing a similar audience in the North. He thanked the Patron and all the members of the AFVOA for the hospitality extended and the memento. 28. There was a record attendance for this meeting. The organizers had adequately catered for this increased demand and needless to say that every one enjoyed the delectable spread to their heart’s content. “ Kindness is a language which the deaf can hear and the blind can read” . ~ Mark Twain Matters Military: 29. Lt Gen J S Aurora, PVSM passes away . This great soldier passed away on 03 May 2005 at Delhi. AFVOA offers its condolences to the bereaved members of family and friends. As the GOC-in-C Eastern Command, he took the surrender of 90,000 Pakistani soldiers on 16 Dec 1971. The instrument of surrender was signed by him and his Pakistani counterpart Lt Gen AAK Niazi at Dacca. This marked the great victory of the Indian Armed Forces in the liberation struggle of East Pakistan resulting in the birth of Bangla Desh as a new Nation. Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw’s comments were very apt, when he remarked “While Jaggi did all the hard work, I got the Baton”. 30. Born on 13 Feb 1916, Lt Gen Aurora, PVSM was initially commissioned into the 1st Bn of 2 Punjab in 1939 He commanded the same regiment during the 1947-48 hostilities with Pakistan at Poor Kalewa near Rajouri He was RGS of a Corps and then was the GOC of a Min Div He served as DGMI at Army HQ before taking over a Corps in Eastern Command. He eventually took over as Army Cdr, Eastern Command. 31. Army Women Officers Scale Mt Everest Indian Army’s women mountaineers created history on Thursday by becoming the first women’s expedition to scale the Mt Everest. The scaling team comprised of Captain Shipra Mazumdar, Captain Ashwini Pawar, cadet Tshering Ladol and trainee Dechin Lhamo who scaled the 8848-metre high peak between 6:15 and 9:39 am on 02 Jun 05. The Armed Forces are proud to have amidst their ranks Women Officers who have not only excelled in their respective fields of specialization but also have not lagged behind in the hazardous adventure sport of mountaineering. I can’t make out why men make all this fuss about Everest…it’s only a mountain”. ~ Junko Tabei