The 92 years old Army veteran Colonel (Retd) Sheetal Singh, who is the first commissioned officer of the J&K State Forces, on Thursday, participated in the Ex-Servicemen Rally held at Shalateng Garrison in north Kashmir.
Col (Retd) Sheetal Singh, who commanded 2 JAK RIF, fought against Pakistan Army in 1965 war, while holding defences in Mehnder in Poonch district. Father of the present GOC Kilo Force also commanded 2 JAK RIF in 1978. The rally attracted over 300 ex-servicemen and their dependents from the north Kashmir area.
On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of India’s definitive victory over Pakistan in the 1971 war, the Ex-Servicemen Rally kicked off with a wreath laying ceremony at the War Memorial, paying respects to our brave soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty.
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The GOC Counter Insurgency Force (Kilo) was present on the occasion to interact with the ex-servicemen and their dependents.
The Rally lived up to its motto of ‘Sampark – Swasthya – Sahuliyat’ by reaching out to a large number of veterans and families and resolving their problems regarding various issues related to documentation, pension, banking, welfare schemes, medical and Aadhaar card issues.
Addressing the rally, the GOC once again pledged Indian Army’s solidarity with its retired fraternity and assured the gathering that the government and Army are sensitive to their needs and would take every step to ensure that the Ex-Servicemen, Veer Naris and their families are cared for and looked after well.
The event was the culmination of a dedicated effort by Counter Insurgency Force (Kilo) that had extensively interacted with the veterans and prepared an extensive data bank to systematically redress grievances faced by veterans in quick-time through multiple agencies during the rally.
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