It was a heart-warming show of solidarity in this hill station on Sunday. With The Nilgiris Collector P. Sankar leading a Flag Day procession through the main roads of the town with a hundial, people belonging to various sections of the society, including pavement hawkers, displayed considerable enthusiasm in contributing their mite.
Some of them told The Hindu that they had made use of the opportunity provided by the organisers with an immense sense of satisfaction as, “it will convey to our soldiers that we are with them.”
Acknowledging the response at a function organised to honour ex-servicemen and their dependents, Mr. Sankar said that though the Flag Day collections target for 2013 was only Rs. 24,67,300, the achievement was Rs. 63,34,000.
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He listed the welfare measures being implemented for ex servicemen.
There were 2,138 ex-servicemen and 776 dependents of ex-servicemen in the Nilgiris.
Last year alone, 188 ex-servicemen had been provided with jobs. Pointing out that soldiers were laying down their lives for the sake of the country and its people, he said that they were also taking on terrorists and helping people affected by natural calamities.
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The Project Director, Hill Area Development Programme, Srinivas R. Reddy, said that Flag Day was being observed to remember the sacrifice of the soldiers.