Veterans for law to protect ex-servicemen

Bhubaneswar: The Veterans Club of Odisha on Saturday submitted a memorandum to the ministry of defence through the naval officer in-charge of the state urging the government to bring a law to protect ex-servicemen from alleged exploitation.
The club has also submitted an 18-page draft statute to the government. In the memorandum, the ex-servicemen said that upon retirement, a soldier often feels like an unwanted element in the society. “Such a person is often considered as the one who was away for a long period and now came to claim his or her properties. In many cases, such a soldier is threatened to leave the native place and find another place to live,” the memorandum read.
President of the club, Bidyadhar Nayak, said that the rehabilitation of ex-serviceman has been not guaranteed by any authority. “It becomes a traumatic experience for many retired soldiers. We need to safeguard their interests as they have been safeguarding the country,” he said.
He said that many ex-Armymen are posted as security guards in several establishments on a mere remuneration of Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000. “Several such companies take the plight of ex-servicemen as an opportunity to exploit them,” Nayak said.