Pune – An `Ex-Servicemen Rally’ was organised under the aegis of Bombay Engineer Group & Centre, Kirkee, Pune on 12 November 2017. Lieutenant General Vishwambar Singh, AVSM, VSM, General Officer Commanding Maharashtra Gujarat & Goa Area was the Chief Guest for the event. Large-scale `Ex-Servicemen’ including `Gallantry Award Winners’ and `Veer Naris’ had gathered from Satara and adjoining districts. A number of other Military and Civil dignitaries attended the event which included Major General Prithi Singh, General Officer Commanding Dakshin Maharashtra Sub Area, Brigadier Dhiraj Mohan, Commandant Bombay Engineer Group & Centre, District Collector of Satara Mrs Shweta Singhal, Colonel R S Chauhan, Colonel Veterans and Colonel Pradeep Dhule (Retired) Deputy Director District Soldier Welfare Board. The rally was organised, as part of the Indian Army’s effort to reach out to its veterans and war widows and apprise them about Army’s focus on assisting them in all spheres of life post-retirement.
Brigadier Dhiraj Mohan, Commandant Bombay Engineer Group & Centre welcomed the gathering which was followed by the address of Senior Veteran Major-General Vijay Pawar (Retired), District Collector of Satara Shweta Singhal, Colonel Pradeep Dhule (Retired) Deputy Director District Soldier Welfare Board. The Chief Guest, Lieutenant General Vishwambar Singh, AVSM, VSM, General Officer Commanding Maharashtra Gujarat & Goa Area, in his address assured the `Ex-Servicemen’ and `Veer Naris’ about continued efforts of the Indian Army to assist them in addressing their problems. 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 Ex-Servicemen with respect to land, water, electricity and legal issues during the rally. He also felicitated Veer Naris during the rally.
Various stalls from different Record Offices were established for resolving pension anomalies and particularly for implementing the recent increase in pension scales. In addition, to assist them in resettlement and welfare aspects, the Army also established stalls for Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS), Canteen Stores Department (CSD) Smart Card, Army Recruiting Office, Army Welfare Placement Organisations and other Welfare Agencies. Ex-Servicemen 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, ICICI, HDFC, PNB, Bank of Maharashtra and Bank of India had also contributed in the rally and established stalls to disseminate information on various financial schemes and privileges offered to Ex-Servicemen and Veer Naris. An extensive and well catered Sainik Bhoj was also organised on the occasion for all the attendees. The rally received an overwhelming response from veterans with more than 3000 Ex-servicemen attending the event. Overall, the Ex-Servicemen Rally turned out to be a huge success and fostered the spirit of camaraderie in the Indian Army.