Agniveer cell to be set up in Uttarakhand: Dhami

Dehradun, Jul 17 (PTI) Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami announced on Friday that an 'Agniveer Cell' would be established to ensure that they benefit from state government schemes after completing their service. Uttarakhand would become the first state in the country to establish such a unit, Dhami said at the Yuva Agniveer Samvad organised by the Youth Foundation in Dehradun. The chief minister also announced special grants for ex-servicemen and Agniveers to set up homestays under the Tourism Department, and for developing infrastructure related to self-employment of locals, ex-servicemen, and Agniveers in border villages. He said the state government is arranging quality, free training for youths preparing for recruitment as Agniveers, and a 10 per cent horizontal reservation has been provisioned for those completing their service in state government sectors, including the police, forest department, and disaster management. Dhami added that provisions have been made to grant them age-limit relaxations and priority during the recruitment process, with the aim of ensuring a dignified future for every youth who serves in the Army. Becoming an Agniveer is not merely about securing a job but a supreme opportunity for national service, where the four years spent in the Army will serve as the greatest asset for the rest of their lives, he said. The chief minister noted that he is the son of a soldier himself and feels a sense of kinship when among soldiers. Highlighting the implementation of a stringent anti-cheating law in the state, Dhami said the government enacted the legislation, which includes provisions for penalties up to life imprisonment, after taking a serious view of various recruitment scams. He noted that over 100 members of the "cheating mafia" in the state have been sent to jail. This has led to complete transparency in recruitment in Uttarakhand, resulting in more than 34,000 eligible youths securing government jobs over the past five years, he said. PTI DPT AMJ SKY SKY