248 soldiers from U'khand sacrificed their lives in 1971 war: Rawat on Vijay Diwas

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat on Monday lauded soldiers from the state, saying they had taken part in all wars fought since Independence and 248 of them lost their lives in the 1971 Indo-Pakistan war.

The chief minister was speaking on the occassion of Vijay Diwas which is celebrated on December 16 every to commemorate India's victory over Pakistan in 1971.

On this day in 1971, over 90,000 Pakistani soldiers had surrendered before Indian troops, bringing to an end the bitterly fought war on the eastern and western fronts. It also led to the creation of Bangladesh.

After paying floral tributes at the 'Shaheed Smarak' in Gandhi Park here, Rawat said in 1971, the three armed forces of India -- Army, Navy, Air Force-- worked in harmony to ensure that the military confrontation ended in just 13 days with the surrender of 95,000 Pakistani soldiers.

In the war, 248 soldiers from Uttarakhand were killed and 78 were injured, Rawat said, adding that 74 soldiers from the state were given the bravery award.

Stressing that issues related to nationalism and environment are close to the people of Uttarakhand, Rawat said ever since India's independence, the hill-state has made significant contributions in wars to protect the unity and integrity of the country.

Till now, Uttarakhand has won a 'Param Vir Chakra', six 'Ashok Chakra', 100 'Vir Chakra' and 1,262 bravery medals, he said.

Rawat said the state government is dedicated towards providing every possible help to soldiers and those dependent on them.

Therefore, we have doubled the pension given to veterans of the freedom struggle and their eligible dependants from Rs 4,000 to Rs 8,000 and jobs in the state government to the dependants of martyred personnel from the army and paramilitary forces.

Families of soldiers have been exempted from paying house tax while children of killed security personnel from classes 1 to 8 are getting Rs 6,000 as education allowance and those in class 9 and upwards till post-graduation are getting Rs 10,000.