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Journalism of Courage
The Surat-based Jai Jawan Nagarik Samiti was the only Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) in the state to honour and extend financial assistance to the families of the13 Kargil martyrs from Gujarat. On Monday,it will extend financial aid and also felicitate the families of the seven security personnel killed in anti-terror operations in Jammu and Kashmir and other parts of the country since January 2007.
Among those to be honoured posthumously at a function to be held sometime in the second week of July is Major Rushikesh Ramani. The officer was killed in a gun battle near the Line of Control (LoC) in Kupwara in J-K on June 8 this year while preventing an infiltration bid from Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK).
He shot dead three terrorists before being killed. He belongs to the Patel community from Saurashtra.
The others to be honoured are Army personnel Ambeshankar Yadav of Mehsana,who was killed during a battle with terrorists in J-K on January 14,2008; Vijay Vasava of Bharuch,who was killed by Maoists in Chhattisgarh on September 4,2008; and CISF personnel Dilipsinh Chavda of Gandhinagar,who was killed in Jharkhand while fighting Maoists.
CISF personnel Kirtansinh Solanki of Panchmahals district,who was killed in Orissa during a battle with Maoists on April 13,2009 and Nitinchandra Bhagat of Umargam taluka in Valsad district,who was killed in a fight with Bodo militants on April 17,2009,will also be honoured.
Samitis chief trustee Dr Mukesh Nawadia told Newsline that the NGO was floated immediately after the Kargil conflict in the summer of 1999 as part of a duty to boost the morale of the soldiers.
Regarding the sources of the Samitis funds,he said it was all from the public contribution during the Kargil conflict. No money was raised after that as the Samiti had enough funds with it. He said the Samiti still has Rs 51 lakh in its bank account.
So far,the Samiti has extended financial aid to the tune of 1.65 crore to the families of as many as 141 Army and para-military personnel from Gujarat as also from outside the state.
The beneficiaries include the families of Kargil martyrs from Gujarat as also the families of 31 Indian Air Force (IAF) personnel who lost their lives and houses during the earthquake in Bhuj in 2001.
Personnel to be honoured
* Major Rushikesh Ramani
* Army personnel Ambeshankar Yadav of Mehsana
* Vijay Vasava of Bharuch
* CISF personnel Dilipsinh Chavda of Gandhinagar
* CISF personnel Kirtansinh Solanki of Panchmahals
* Nitinchandra Bhagat of Umargam taluka in Valsad district
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