It was an eventful Sunday for the ex-servicemen (ESM) when the city of Vijayawada came alive with a large number of veterans and Veer Naaris of Armed Forces taking part in a rally organised by Artillery Centre, Hyderabad, under the aegis of Dakshin Bharat Area at the IGMC Stadium.Lieutenant General R.K. Anand, General Officer Commanding (GOC), Dakshin Bharat Area, graced the occasion along with Major General N. Srinivas Rao, GOC, Telangana and Andhra sub-areas.
The event was attended by B.V. Ramana Kumar, Additional Commissioner of Police, Vijayawadam apart from Commodore (Retd) M.V.S. Kumar, Director, Sainik Welfare, Andhra Pradesh, and other serving army officers.In the event, a large number of ex-servicemen, war widows and their dependants took part.
The event served as an occasion for bonhomie and bonding with the veterans and redressal of grievances. Apart from being a forum for the young to honour elderly brethren, arrangements were also in place for medical and dental examination.
The rally not only aimed at addressing the problems of ex-servicemen and their dependents but also helped in motivating the youth of these areas to join armed forces.Mr. Anand said that all measures were being taken by the Indian Army to reach out to the ex-servicemen, Veer Naris and veterans in each district to resolve their issues relating to pension, documentation, medical and others. Major General N.S. Rao said that such programmes would serve the purpose of keeping the ex-servicemen abreast with the latest benefits, policies, and regulations extended by the government from time to time.
Medical care
A team of army doctors, who specialised in various fields such as medical, surgical and ENT, was present to extend medical care to the needy. Facilities for ECG and laboratory were also established at the venue and medicines were distributed to the Ex-servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS) and Army Welfare Placement Organisation was also set up for benefit of veterans. A large number of ex-servicemen visited the respective records offices stalls, set up on the occasion to deal with their queries and to sort out their pension-related issues.
