TN to adopt orphaned children

Vij tours Andamans, scans Relief Command

NEW DELHI: Army chief General N.C. Vij spent New Year Day on the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and was briefed this morning by the new Integrated Relief Command, set up on New Year’s Eve by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to oversee the three armed forces’ rescue and relief operations on the islands. Vij took over as Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee on Thursday.

An Army brigade, including specialised groups for relief work, has been deployed across the islands. The brigade also has engineers, medical teams, surgeons and a signal detachment. Vij later made a stop at Car Nicobar, so far the worst-hit island on which a sizeable number of IAF officers and their families died in last Sunday’s tsunami. He also visited the other affected areas around the islands and spoke to locals and relief workers. He also called on Andman and Nicobar Islands Lieutenant Governor Ram Kapse.

Defence Secy to head logistics unit

NEW DELHI: Defence Secretary Ajai Vikram Singh will head the integrated logistics set-up announced by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday, to coordinate and arrange relief operations stretching across the states and areas affected by Sunday’s tsunami — Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Pondicherry. Cabinet Secretary B.K. Chaturvedi made the announcement on Saturday evening after a meeting of the Group of Ministers chaired by the PM.