Vinay Shankar Pandey, District Magistrate, Uttarkashi, chairs a meeting of the District Ex-servicemen Welfare Board in Uttarkashi on Wednesday. Tribune photo

Tribune News Service

Mussoorie, March 30

Vinay Shankar Pandey, District Magistrate, Uttarkashi, today reviewed the progress of various projects being run for the welfare of ex-servicemen in the district. He held a meeting of District Ex-Servicemen Welfare Board members at the district administration auditorium in Uttarkashi.He directed the officials to expedite various projects being run for the welfare of widows of ex-servicemen in the district. He directed the board members to ensure that meetings were held quarterly so that their problems were resolved timely.He also announced a major camp for ex-servicemen in the district on April 18 where officials from all departments would be present and address their grievances. He directed the CMO, Uttarkashi, to conduct a medical camp the same day.The members of the board raised the issue of construction of a martyrs memorial park (shaheed park) that was swept away by the Bhagirathi river during the natural disaster of 2013 near the Tiloth Bridge. The DM said the site had been allocated to the Ganga Pollution Control Unit for construction of a sewage treatment plant hence the board should identify a new site for which the district administration would give its approval without any delay. The members also demanded the presence of officials from self-employment schemes and various banks for speedy resolution of the problems during the proposed camp. They raised the property related issues. The DM assured that revenue officers would also be present in the camp to solve the revenue related issues.The board officials informed that 32 ex-servicemen were registered for rehabilitation in 2015. The identity cards to 45 ex-servicemen and 14 widows have been distributed and computer training has been given to ex-servicemen and their dependents for creating self-employment. Scholarships worth Rs 4.32 lakh have been distributed to the children of 71 ex-servicemen in the district. The board officials also informed that Rs 4.75 lakh had been paid to one Shaurya Chakra, seven Sena Medal and one dispatch medal recipient in the district. They informed that guest house at block and tehsil level was proposed for the benefit of the ex-servicemen for which the executive agency had been directed to prepare a DPR so that it can be sent for financial approval to the government.