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CARE TODAY
LEST WE FORGET
The Indian In Us All
When CARE TODAY
was set up after the Kargil war, the generosity displayed by INDIA TODAY
readers was overwhelming. They contributed Rs 114.05 lakh to the Lest
We Forget fund. The society adopted 30 soldiers disabled in Kargil and
other operations and has already utilised Rs 77.49 lakh for their rehabilitation.
The stories of these heroes and the effort to help them rebuild their
lives have been detailed in the pages of INDIA TODAY. Clearly, when calamity
strikes, our readers don't hesitate to share the burden of their countrymen.
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HAHENDER SINGH,
Ex-sepoy, 13 Kumaon Regiment
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Mahender Singh,
Ex-sepoy, 13 Kumaon Regiment Mahender Singh, 25, was one of four soldiers
hit by an avalanche on March 4, 1999 while doing "link duty"
in Siachen during Operation Meghdoot. They remained buried in the snow
and ice for four hours in what is the world's highest and also coldest
battlefield. When help arrived, only two came out alive. A camp pole had
hit Singh on the head and two spikes had pierced it, affecting his nerves
and paralysing his left limbs. He also lost all his toes and fingers to
frostbite and remained unconscious for 45 days.
After he came out of the coma, Singh underwent
treatment at the Command Hospital at Chandigarh for over six months. Later,
he was admitted to the Base Hospital in Delhi for a month and finally
sent to the Artificial Limbs Centre, Pune, where he was provided with
special shoes and artificial fingers. He was boarded out of the army with
100 per cent disability in August 2000.
Singh returned to his home in Achina village
in Bhiwani district of Haryana. Initially, his disability caused the ex-sepoy
to sink into a depression. But his family-his wife Anita, his parents
and two younger siblings-was very supportive. Their words of encouragement
helped Singh overcome the shock. He has begun to move around and walks
3 km every morning, each step more firm and resolute than the one before.
However, Singh's biggest worry was the financial
security of his family since it was his salary that ran the household.
So when CARE TODAY adopted him under the Lest We Forget programme, Singh
decided to buy a tractor to till the 10 acres of land the family owns
in Bhiwani. The brave jawan was going to become a hard-working kisan.
CARE TODAY disbursed Rs 3 lakh-Rs 2.44 lakh
for the tractor and the balance for attachments. On January 23, a Mahindra
DI 265 tractor was handed over to Singh at a ceremony organised at Charkhi
Dadri by Jai Tractors, the tractor dealer. Villagers from Achina and the
local people honoured the brave son of the soil at the function.
The tractor means a lot to Singh. Besides tilling
his land, the tractor will provide additional income to Singh's family.
It could be rented out to other farmers in the village and be contracted
by the factories that are proposed to be built in the area. With a glint
in his eye as he admires it, Singh says, "I may be 100 per cent disabled,
but I'm going to drive this tractor myself." Brave words indeed.
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RAM SAHAI,
Ex-Rifleman, 2 Rajputana Rifles
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After he lost a
leg in a mine blast in June 1999 and was boarded out of the army in April
2000, rifleman Ram Sahai's main concern was a regular source of income.
That worry is over. Sahai has been allotted an LPG agency in Shahpura
in Jaipur district. To transport the LPG cylinders, Sahai has bought a
Tata 407 commercial vehicle for Rs 4.14 lakh. While CARE TODAY provided
him Rs 3 lakh for the vehicle, Sahai got an interest-free loan for the
balance from a finance company. Sainik Gas Services will be inaugurated
later this month. "The vehicle will help me run my business,"
he beams.
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SARAS CHANDRAN,
Ex-sepoy, 138 Medium Artillery
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Sepoy P.V. Saras
Chandran was badly injured when a Pakistani shell hit his truck near Baramulla
in Kashmir. His backbone was injured and he was paralysed waist down.
"My family couldn't afford to take care of an invalid," he says.
That's where CARE TODAY stepped in and offered him help to restart his
life. Last month, Chandran started CARE TODAY Communications, his STD/ISD
booth and photocopy shop at Kadanapalli in Kannur district of Kerala,
with funds provided by CARE TODAY. "I'm confident about life now
with this shop," he says with a smile.
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HAVILDAR SUNIL K. LIMBU,
1/11 Gorkha Rifles
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He is a miracle
on two legs. Sunil Kumar Limbu sustained a spinal cord injury in the Kargil
war which paralysed him waist down. There were fears he'd never stand
again. But the soldier in him egged Limbu to defy the odds. Today, he
even walks. There was another pleasant news: in September 2000 his wife
gave birth to a baby boy. CARE TODAY gave Limbu Rs 2.65 lakh for the construction
of a toilet and additions to his house in Mohabbewala village in Dehradun.
In February, he bought a 580 sq ft plot for Rs 35,000. He plans to build
a shop there and run a small business after retirement.
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