ITANAGAR, Jun 24: A Mega Ex-Servicemen Rally for the retired Army and Assam Rifles personnel was organized at Khonsa, the headquarters of Tirap district by the Khonsa Battalion of Assam Rifles on Friday under HQ 25 Sector Assam Rifles to reach out to Veterans, Veer Naris and widows of Tirap and Longding districts of Arunachal Pradesh.
The focus of the ESM Rally, held in close coordination with the Zila Sainik Board, Rajya Sainik Board and Tirap District Administration, was to address various grievances of the retired defence personnel and resolve various pension anomalies, ameliorating day-to-day problems of the veterans, a release from the Khonsa Battalion of Assam Rifles said.
The rally witnessed a large participation of veterans with many coming from far-flung villages along the Indo-Myanmar border and a healthy interactive session between ex-servicemen and civil/ defence officials. A large number of problems were addressed and others were noted down for follow-up action with various institutions like Record Offices, Zila Sainik Board and Pension Disbursing Banks.
A medical stall was also established during the rally to provide medical assistance to the veterans alongwith dental check-up by dental surgeon of Assam Rifles in a fully equipped dental van. The State Bank of India and the district’s Statistics Department also established facilitation counters to assist and guide veterans on issues related to Aadhaar and banking.
The rally was attended by 130 veterans, two Veer Naris and 14 widows. It was also attended by officials of the civil administration.
The Sector Commander, 25 Sector Assam Rifles reassured the veterans that the welfare of the 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, time to time.
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, the release added.