ITANAGAR, May 25: In an effort to reach out to the Veterans, Veer Naris from Tirap and Longding districts of Arunachal Pradesh, the Khonsa Battalion of Assam Rifles on Thursday organized an Ex-Servicemen (ESM) rally at Khonsa, the headquarters of Tirap district.
The focus of the rally, held in close coordination with the Zilla Sainik Board, Rajya Sainik Board and the State administration, was to address various grievances of Ex-Servicemen and resolve various pension anomalies along with amelioration of day to day problems of Veterans, an official communiqué said here.
The rally witnessed approximately 150 Veterans, Veer Naris and Next of Kin’s (NoKs) attending the event with many coming from the far-flung villages on India-Myanmar border, indulging in a healthy interactive session with civil and defence officials. A sizeable number of problems were addressed and others were noted down for follow up action with various institutions like Record Offices, Zilla Sainik Board and Pension Disbursing Banks.
A medical stall under the arrangement of the Khonsa Battalion’s hospital was also established to provide medical assistance to the veterans. Dental check-up by a dental specialist of Assam Rifles in a fully equipped dental van was also catered for. State Bank of India and District Statistics Department, Tirap also established facilitation counters to assist and guide veterans on issues related to Aadhaar and banking.
While attending the program, Dadam Circle Officer Pik Tayom lauded the Khonsa Battalion for conducting such a mega rally in Tirap district which will immensely boost the morale of Ex-Servicemen, Veer Naris and NoKs. The CO, on behalf of District Administration, assured to extend full cooperation with paramilitary forces and ex-servicemen in connection with dealing for obtaining of important documents and certificates etc, in the days to come.
Commandant, Khonsa Battalion of Assam Rifles, Col Aman Ahluwalia assured the Veterans that the welfare of Ex-Servicemen remains the prime concern of the serving fraternity and frequency of such interactions will be increased in future to address issues of Veterans from time to time.
The rally was also attended by DDMO cum Member Secretary, Zilla Sainik Board Emily Tingkhatra. The Veterans, Veer Naris and their kin were enthused by the conduct of the rally and expressed their sincere gratitude towards Khonsa Battalion of Assam Rifles for the efforts being taken to reach out to them.