Jammu, September 20

Family members of Uri martyrs, who belong to the Jammu region, have demanded that the families of soldiers should be given ex gratia at par with neighbouring states like Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Haryana.Raj Kumar, brother of Uri martyr Havildar Ravi Pal, sought to draw attention of the state government towards the ex gratia announced by the neighbouring states. He said apart from enhancing the ex gratia, the J&K Government must provide job to at least a kin of the martyrs. Geeta Devi, wife of martyr havildar, has also applied for a government job, but no action had been taken so far.The Uttar Pradesh government had sanctioned Rs 20 lakh for Uri martyrs, Jharkhand Rs 11 lakh, Odisha Rs 10 lakh plus pension, Maharashtra and Bihar Rs 15 lakh each and the J&K Government has sanctioned Rs 5 lakh.Though the martyrs’ families have received Rs 5 lakh, they were of the view that the amount had been sanctioned by the Army not by the state government. However, the Army made it clear that the amount was sanctioned by the J&K Government, but handed over to the martyrs’ family through the Defence authorities. — TNS