Shree Cement Ltd. has announced the commencement of “Project Naman”, a national initiative to provide cement free of cost to the families of Armed Forces Personnel martyred in the past twenty years.
The roll-out of this project comes as a run up to Vijay Diwas which is observed every year on 16 December to mark India’s victory over Pakistan in the Bangladesh War in 1971 and remember the sacrifices of Indian soldiers.
Under the Naman scheme, the family or the next of kin (NOK) of the martyrs who laid down their lives in battle between 1 January 1999 to 1 January 2019 (20 years ), would be provided cement free of cost to build a house on a plot size area of up to 4000 sq ft.
The family of a martyr needs to procure the cement in person from any of Shree Cement’s manufacturing facilities in India.
“It is a wonderful gesture by Shree Cement to extend their support and solidarity for our veterans, martyrs who have given their lives for the country,” Lt. General Alok Kler, PVSM, VSM, GOC-in-C, Southern Western Commissioned, Indian Army said in a ceremony to mark the occasion.
“This kind of recognition is rare and unique. This initiative in true sense has cemented a place for the company in the annals of the army history for the welfare for our martyrs,” he said.
“I sincerely hope that other large industries take a page out of this book and look towards the Army and especially the people who have laid down their lives for the human service while forgetting their families,” he added.
He further said that a lot more needs to be done for the army and the soldiers who have laid down their lives on the line of duty and other corporates should come forward for such welfare cause.
“Since cement is the most vital input for building a house, we felt that the Naman scheme would be extremely helpful towards meeting the housing needs of the families of martyrs,” said Prashant Bangur, joint managing director, Shree Cements Ltd. in a statement.
“It is a great honour for us to make a humble contribution to the families of our soldiers who rose above the call of service and laid their lives for the motherland. We salute the martyrs of our nation,” he said.
The scheme is being implemented in association with Kendriya Sainik Board and executed by the Rajya Sainik Boards (RSBs) and Zilla Sainik Boards (ZSBs), Ministry of Defence.
Ms. Sunita Devi and Ms. Sudesh, family members of martyrs, were among the first beneficiaries of Naman to be handed over release orders, the company said.
Published - December 05, 2020 04:06 pm IST
