State to give Rs 2 lakh to kin of martyrs

 The State government has decided to give a one-time financial assistance to the kin of all war heroes and defence personnel from the State who lost their lives and to those who have sustained severe injuries in the line of duty, since the country attained independence in 1947.

While the kin of those who lost their lives will get Rs two lakh, those who have been rendered disabled with more than 50 per cent injuries will get Rs one lakh. The government will incur a total expenditure of Rs 6.41 crore for this purpose. The State Home department issued an order to this effect on September 24.

This, however, will not apply to those who took part in the Kargil war of 1999. The State government had distributed a one-time Rs 5-lakh financial assistance to each of the 30 Kargil war heroes from the State, on August 15, 2009.

As many as 293 defence personnel from the State lost their lives and 55 sustained more than 50 per cent injuries since independence, excluding those who took part in the Kargil war. These gallant heroes are from 13 districts of the State. They include those who took part in the 1962 Indo-China war, Indo-Pakistan war of 1965, Bangladesh war of 1971 and all other operations involving anti-national groups.

After the government generously offered financial assistance to the Kargil heroes, the kin of the victims of all those who took part in other wars and operations came up with a plea seeking similar assistance. The Karnataka Sainik Welfare and Resettlement Board had submitted a proposal in this regard in November 2009 to the government. The Finance department (FD) had been sitting on the proposal for nearly three years. The FD approved it on September 11, 2012.

Help attract youth

The Board director P B Shetty said offering financial assistance was an honour for their service to the nation. They had also made Karnataka proud. The move would help attract youth from the State to join the armed forces, he said.

The Board would take appropriate steps to distribute cheques to the beneficiaries based on the government’s directions.

It is not clear whether the government would organise a public function for this purpose or cheques would be handed over to the beneficiaries at their doorsteps, he said.