DEHRADUN: For six decades, Debuli Devi carried the memory of her husband Sepoy Madan Singh, who made the ultimate sacrifice during the 1965 Pakistan war, but waited patiently for the settlement of final dues from the Army. Last week, the long wait ended as she received the first installment of a long-overdue financial grant.
Sepoy Madan Singh fell in the line of duty on September 7, 1965. While Debuli Devi, who lives in a remote mountainous village, has been receiving a liberal family pension for years, a bureaucratic maze kept other rightful entitlements out of her reach. However, following a special review campaign launched by the Centre to resolve pending cases of war martyrs, authorities cleared the path for her final compensation.
Through the collaborative efforts of the Indian Army and the Department of Sainik Welfare, an amount of Rs 28.45 lakh was deposited into Debuli Devi’s bank account. The money, though, is secondary to the acknowledgement she received.
“The Indian Army has always stood firmly with Veer Naris and the families of martyrs,” she said, while expressing her gratitude to the District Sainik Welfare Office. “This gives hope to thousands of other families whose files have remained stuck in administrative pathways,” she added.
Uttarakhand’s Minister for Sainik Welfare Ganesh Joshi expressed satisfaction at resolution of this case. “We are committed to ensuring that no family of martyrs is left behind due to paperwork,” he stated, adding, “We will soon compile a list of all such pending cases and request the Centre to prioritise their resolution.”