NAHARLAGUN, Oct 19: Ex-servicemen (ESM) from the state raised various issues concerning their welfare during a meeting of the Ex-Servicemen Association of Arunachal Pradesh (ESMAAP) at a hotel here on Saturday.
During the meeting, ESMAAP general secretary Mimar Ete highlighted the association’s efforts to have a directorate of sainik welfare and a Rajya Sainik Board (RSB) established “to look after the grievances and welfare of veterans, ESM, veer naris, widows and next of kin.”
Arunachal is the only state in India without an RSB, Ete said.
ESMAAP vice president, Bruce Jilee Dada, lamented that “the file for creation of a sainik welfare board and an RSB is languishing in the finance department since 2018, despite the governor being the chief patron of the state’s ESM and a veteran retired brigadier from the Indian Army himself.”
Dada added that “better compassion for fellow veterans of Arunachal is warranted.”
Retired IAF wing commander, Gyati Kago, encouraged the veterans and the others to “keep high morale, live the life of dignity with honour, and be an example to the society in every sphere of life.”
He informed that during a recent meeting, the chief secretary, on behalf of the state government, gave assurance that a sainik welfare directorate and an RSB would be established on or before March next year.
