SOUTHERN COMD CELEBRATES ARMED FORCES VETERANS DAY AT BEG & CENTRE, KIRKEE, PUNE ON 14 JANUARY
Pune – To celebrate Armed Forces Veterans Day,a Wreath Laying Ceremony and Veterans Rally was organised under the aegis of BEG & Centre, Kirkee, Pune on 14 January 2017. Lt Gen PM Hariz, AVSM, SM, VSM, ADC, GOC-in-C Southern Command was the Chief Guest for the event. Approximately 1500 `Veterans’ including `Gallantry Award Winners’ and `Veer Naris’ had gathered from Pune. A number of other Military and Civil dignitaries attended the event which included Maj Gen Prithi Singh,GOC DMSA,Brig Dhiraj Mohan,Comdt BEG & Centre and Col Suhas Jatkar (Retd), Director DSW, Pune. The rally was organised, as part of the `Armed Forces Veterans Day’ being celebrated by all three services at various important locations across the country on 14 January 17.
Brig Dhiraj Mohan, Comdt BEG & Centre welcomed the gathering which was followed by the address of Director, Dept of Sainik Welfare, Maharashtra. The Chief Guest, Lt Gen PM Hariz, AVSM, SM, VSM, ADC, GOC-in-C Southern Comd, in his address assured the `Veterans’ and `Veer Naris’ about continued efforts of the Armed Forces to assist them in addressing their corcerns and grievances. While appreciating the good work being done by various Record Offices in resolving pension anomalies, he also thanked the Civil Administration for looking into the grievances of veterans with respect to land, water, electricity and legal issues during the rally. Mrs Zarina Hariz, Regional President AWWA, Southern Command felicitated Veer Naris during the rally.
Various stalls from different Record Offices were established for resolving pension anomalies. In addition, to assist them in resettlement and welfare aspects, the Army also established stalls for Ex-servicemenContributory Health Scheme (ECHS), Canteen Stores Department (CSD) Smart Card, Army Recruiting Office, Army Welfare Placement Organisations and other Welfare Agencies. Veterans registered themselves with the representatives of Army Placement Node present at the rally, which provided an insight into the job opportunities post retirement.
Nationalised Banks like SBI, PNB, HDFC, Bank of Maharashtra and Bank of India also contributed by establishing stalls to disseminate information on various financial schemes and previleges offered to Veterans and Veer Naris.
A Medical Camp with latest medical facilities was established as part of the Veterans Rally. The Camp provided medical check up and treatment to the Veterans and their families by medical specialists.
An extensive and well catered Sainik Bhoj was organised on the occasion for all the attendees. Overall, the Veterans Rally turned out to be a huge success and fostered the spirit of camaraderie in the Armed Forces.
