Surat: In order to break the Surti stereotype of one who is averse to joining the army, an announcement of handing out cash rewards to anybody from the city who enlists with the Indian army was made during a program organized to celebrate Kargil Vijay Divas.

The Jai Jawan Nagrik Samiti of Surat had organized the function to pay tribute to the brave soldiers who ensured India’s victory on the heights of Kargil. Floral tributes, a triangle yatra and a mega blood donation camp were organized on the occasion. Floral tributes were paid to the soldiers near the Sarthana Zoo on Varacha road at 8.55 am. It was followed up with a magnificent triranga yatra, which started Sarthana Shahid Smarak and reached Saurashtra Patel Bhavan while passing along the Varacha main road.

As a salute to the bravery of our soldiers, the Association of Self-financed Schools in Surat organized a mega blood donation camp where as many as 1,000 units of donated blood were collected.

The Jai Jawan Nagrik Samiti felicitated the families of 11 fallen brave-hearts and offered them financial aid during the Samarpan Gaurav Samaroh organized at Sardar Smriti Bhavan.

Two paintings were auctioned during the program and the proceeds were handed over to the families of the brave hearts as financial aid. The community of Nayna Dhanani, who is the first Gujarati to enter the NSG from the BSF, has decided to hand over Rs 5 lakh to her as a reward during her marriage function.

The program was attended by Digendrakumar Yadav, who was the first person to hoist the national tricolour after India’s victory at Kargil. D S Mehta, the commander during the war, was also present at the event. Ashadeep School has agreed to bear the expenses of educating three daughters of one of the soldiers who was martyred during the war. Lt col Mukesh Rathod said that very few men from the state join the army and there are no Gujarati officers at all in the Indian army. People in the state don’t know how to become an officer in the Indian army. Therefore, he asked that events be organized to spread awareness among the people on this matter. One of the donors at the event announced that he will offer a cash prize to anybody from the city who gets selected for the army.

DeshGujarat