Playing with pilots’ lives
By Pritam Bhullar

ONE is prepared for the loss of life in War, but not during the training in peace time and that too when it is known that the lives are being repeatedly lost due to the deficiency of some important equipment.

Sadly, the IAF has lost 210 pilots and 552 aircraft because the government has not taken any decision on the acquisition/manufacturing of an Advanced Jet Trainer (AJT) for 14 years. This is despite the government’s admission that non-availability of an AJT continues to take a heavy toll in terms of training related accidents.

No wonder then, the Standing Committee on Defence in its fourth report tabled in Parliament on February 25, indicted the government for not acquiring or manufacturing an AJT for such a long time. The Committee has recommended that the government should identify the functionaries responsible for decision-making and initiate appropriate proceedings against them for "dereliction of duty towards the nation."

For all these years, the government has been "considering" whether to buy the Franco-German Alpha Jet or the British Hawk out of the two short-listed aircraft. At the end of 1995, the price negotiation committee was still engaged in discussions with the manufacturers of the two aircraft for a final decision which, it was said, was to be taken by early 1996.

In view of this, whom did the government want to hoodwink by making a statement in Lok Sabha on March 4 that it had approved the acquisition of an AJT and that the various options were to be considered before taking a decision?

Incidentally, the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) had suggested (in 1985) that an indigenous AJT could be manufactured if it was given two years. But this offer was not accepted by the government.

Terming the government’s approach as "very casual", the Standing Committee has recommended that it (the government) should acquire or produce an AJT in the shortest possible time to save the lives of pilots and loss of aircraft.

The only way to improve things in our slow moving system is by making people accountable and by punishing them for their lapses.

Heart surgery

Most ex-servicemen and their spouses, when struck by a heart ailment, have to go to one of the prescribed civil hospitals for heart surgery. And if they are members of the Medical Benefit Scheme (MBS), the cost of treatment (as stipulated in the scheme) is reimbursed to them. But the cost of treatment in civil hospitals is much higher than the amount that is reimbursed to them by the Army Group Insurance Fund (AGIF).

Very few ex-servicemen know that heart surgery is being carried out at two military hospitals, that is, Command Hospital Pune and The Army Hospital Delhi free of cost for them and their wives.

Both at Pune and Delhi, all heart surgeries such as bypass surgery, open heart surgery and pace-maker implant surgery are carried out. But Pune hospital was ahead of Delhi hospital, for it had started angiography and angioplasty in 1995. It also has a proper cardio-thoracic centre (CTC), which the Delhi hospital did not have. Not only that, the Pune hospital also made a history by starting infant cardiac surgery in 1996.

The deficiency of a CTC at the Army Hospital Delhi, which is the biggest military hospital in the country, was a matter of concern for the authorities. The plan to have a state-of-the-art cardiac centre there had, therefore, been initiated a few years ago.

What should bring cheer to the serving and ex-soldiers in this region is that one of the most modern cardiac catherisation laboratory, which is the first one of its kind in the Army, has been set up at Delhi hospital recently.

The biggest cantonment

The Bathinda military station in Punjab took birth in 1975 on arid and sandy land measuring 13,370 acres. Its transformation from sand dunes to gardens and parks can be attributed to the giant effort put in by its inhabitants and plenty of water that the Sirhind canal brought to it.

When completed, this cantonment will be the biggest in Asia. What makes it different from other cantonments is not only its size and modern look out also it ecological revolution which captures the minds of all those who are posted to it. Flowers in this station are grown in such abundance that one sees a riot of colour all over the cantonment in this season. Flower competitions among unit lines, institutions and officers’ bungalows has become a regular annual feature in this station.

Bathinda can be called the best peace station, for it provides all the modern facilities and, unlike most other cantonments, is not short of married accommodation. The Chetak Officer’s Institute has a well-equipped health club a good library, a cafeteria and the latest music system channelled to each room. What adds to its beauty is an artistically laid out ecological park and a rose garden. The station also has an institute for JCOs and other ranks and their families.

The station has a swimming pool of Olympic standard, a scenic Chetak Park for walks and picnics, which spreads over an area of ten acres. The park also has a mini zoo and offers boating facilities.

Among several other facilities, Bathinda has a riding club, a skeet shooting club and a sailing club. The special attraction of the station is its lush green 18-hole Chetak Golf Course which is one of the best and the largest in India.

The Military Hospital (MH) Bathinda shifted to its present four-storey complex, which was built with all the ultra-modern facilities, in the early nineties. The MH caters to the medicare of over 60,000 troops which includes three Air Force stations i.e. Barnala, Sirsa and Bisana. Apart from this, over 50,000 ex-servicemen are dependent on this hospital.

This feature was published on March 21, 1999