THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The 40th anniversary of the 1971 Indo-Pak War was observed with much fanfare in the city on Friday. The two-day programmes, organised by the Kerala State Ex-Services League, concluded with a mass rally and public meeting at the Chandrasekharan Nair Stadium.The rally, which started from the Manaveeyam Road, was attended by thousands of ex-servicemen and their family members. Inaugurating the valedictory meeting, Panchayat and Social Welfare Minister M K Muneer said that the country should respect the brave men who laid down their lives for the people. The Minister said that the government would favourably consider the demands raised by the ex-servicemen community. Opposition Leader V S Achuthanandan, in his address, said that the country owed a lot to the Armed Forces, which raised the prestige of the country in the 1971 war. Raju Abraham MLA said that he would raise a submission in the Assembly on the delay in land allotment for setting up ECHS polyclinics. Air Commodore (Retd) S Sasidharan Nair urged the state and central governments to give more attention to the demands of ex-servicemen. He urged the state government to reserve a fixed percentage in jobs for the ex-servicemen in honour of their service to the country.The meeting passed a resolution raising four demands. They include the sanctioning of one-rank one pension for ex-servicemen, instituting War Pay for brave soldiers who fought for the country, setting up a memorial for the martyrs and resolving the anomalies in the contributory ECHS scheme. Ex-Services League general secretary K V Vasudevan welcomed the gathering. State president Varghese Kappil presided over the function. Palode Ravi MLA, Air Marshal (Retd) Narayana Menon and Ex-Servicemen League district president G Ramachandran Nair also spoke on the occasion.
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