By IANS
New Delhi : For former Indian Army soldier Ajit Kumar Shukla losing his ability to walk in an army operation changed his life completely. But the confidence and blazing hope to move on has not diminished one bit. Scores of real-life heroes like him were honoured by the War Wounded Foundation in the capital Friday.
A charitable organisation set up for long-term rehabilitation of war-disabled personnel of the defence forces, the War Wounded Foundation has been working for the benefit of the wounded soldiers since 2002.
"The disabled personnel of the armed forces are the forgotten heroes who have given their today for the rest of the country's safe tomorrow. Until the Kargil war of 1999, even the widows of the martyrs were shabbily compensated, but the disabled soldiers were studiously ignored.
"Even the disability pension that they get now is not sufficient for them to lead a decent and financially independent life. Hence we decided to help these personnel by persuading corporate houses to give them jobs in the retail outlets of their products," said Lt. Gen. Vijay Oberoi, former vice chief of army staff of the Indian Army and president of the foundation.
Among the companies that have come forward in helping the wounded personnel by providing them job opportunities in their retail outlets are Apollo Tyres, Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Pepsico, ICICI Bank, Chambal Fertilizers and Gujarat Ambuja Cements.
Jammu and Kashmir infantry's Afsar Ali Khan, who had lost his left leg in a mine blast in 2002, said the foundation's initiative in providing him with an alternative livelihood has come as a big relief for him and his family.
"Since 2002, I have been running an IOC lubes outlet at Kupwara in Kashmir and earn Rs.4,000-5,000 every month. This along with the pension that I draw helps me take care of my family. It is a blessing," said Khan.
Grey-haired Jagdish Prasad, a former constable of the 17 Jat Regiment, said: "I was shot on the left side of my chest and seriously injured, which left me incapable to serve the army. But after I was given the charge of running a Pepsi and Sahara Care outlet at Aligarh, my home, hope came back to me."
"I was no longer financially dependent. I now earn Rs.10,000 every month and get a pension which helps me support my family," he said.
While the war-wounded veterans were honoured, the problem areas of the foundation were also highlighted.
"One of the problems that we face is the lack of funds. Had we enough funds we can give easy loans to many of the wounded personnel so that they can start a business sitting in their homes either in the city or in villages," said Oberoi.
"Another problem is the lack of office space of the foundation. Lack of awareness, both among individuals as well as the wounded personnel, is a drawback."
General J.J. Singh, chief of the Army staff who was present at the ceremony, immediately announced a bigger office space for the foundation in the army cantonment area of Delhi. He said that various initiatives have been taken to help them and also reduce the rate of injury among soldiers.
"There are approximately 30,000 wounded soldiers in India. Although there has been no war as such, but the rate of injury is high in various operations in the Jammu and Kashmir area and the northeast.
"But in the last two years the number of those injured has come down from 600 to 250. We are doing our best to avoid any casualty," Singh said.
The foundation also launched its website (www.warwounded.org) in a bid to spread awareness about its work and invite more soldiers so that they can be helped.