Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat paid tributes at the martyrs memorial in Gandhi Park on the occasion of Kargil Vijay Diwas. Appreciating the valour of the Indian armed forces, he said that Uttarakhand has a long tradition of courage and sacrifice of soldiers.
Before and after the nation gained independence, the braves of Uttarakhand have made important contributions for the defence of the nation. Even in the Kargil war a large number of men from Uttarakhand sacrificed their lives while defending the nation.
Thirty seven soldiers from Uttarakhand also received bravery medals in this war.The CM said that the whole world acknowledged the strength of the Indian army considering the manner in which our soldiers displayed valour in difficult circumstances to push the intruders back across the border. The nation will always remember the sacrifice of the soldiers in the Kargil war, he said.
Rawat said that the state government is committed to the welfare of ex-servicemen and dependents of martyred soldiers. The government is providing employment to one family member each of martyr soldiers according to their qualification.
The State Government has increased the amount provided to recipients of special service medals. The amount for recipients of Param Vishisht Seva Medal was increased from Rs 15,000 to Rs 2,00,000, the amount for recipients of Ati Vishisht Seva Medal was increased from Rs 7,000 to Rs 1,50,000 and while there was no such amount for recipients of Sena Medal, now they are eligible for Rs 1,00,000.
The World War II pension was also increased from Rs 4,000 per month to Rs 8,000 per month. Computer training is being provided in all districts to make ex-servicemen/widows and their dependents self reliant.
Further, on being selected for NDA, IMA, OTA, Air Force Academy, Naval Academy, civil services, PCS, MBBS, IIT or IIM, the ex-servicemen dependents living in Uttarakhand have their coaching expenses reimbursed.The CM also informed about the various other measures being taken by the state government for the welfare of ex-servicemen. MLAs Harbans Kapoor, Ganesh Joshi, Khajan Das, Vinod Chamoli, mayor Sunil Uniyal, additional chief secretary Radha Raturi and army officers also laid wreaths at the martyrs’ memorial.
Earlier, the CM visited the home of Kargil martyr Nayak Devendra Singh Rawat of the Naga regiment and paid tributes to him. He also honoured the dependents of the martyr