Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhara Rao on Friday announced Rs 5 crore cash compensation to the family of Colonel-rank officer Santosh Babu who was among the 20 Army personnel martyred in the Chinese aggression in Ladakh’s Galwan Valley.
Apart from Rs 5 crore cash compensation, the Telangana government announced a house plot and a Group I job to Santosh Babu’s wife. This is the biggest compensation announced by any state government. Although nothing can compensate for the supreme sacrifice of the Indian Army personnel who laid down their lives guarding our borders or the loss of the bereaved family, the Telangana government’s gesture is laudable.
Earlier, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Thursday announced ex-gratia of Rs 1 crore, a house/plot and a government job to one family member of Naik Deepak Kumar from Rewa, who was martyred in face-off with China in Galwan valley. Bihar CM Nitish Kumar had announced compensation of Rs 36 lakh each to the families of five martyred jawans. Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik had announced ex-gratia of Rs 20 lakh each from CM Relief Fund to the two jawans of his state who were martyred. Tamil Nadu CM Edappadi Palanisami announced Rs 20 lakh to the family of a jawan who was martyred . Punjab CM Amarinder Singh announced ex-gratia of Rs 10-12 lakhs and a government job to the families of the four jawans martyred from his state, while West Bengal Chief Minister on Wednesday had announced Rs 5 lakh and a government job to one member of the families of two Jawans martyred from West Bengal.
In the first combat deaths in the Galwan Valley of eastern Ladakh in 45 years since 1975, Colonel-rank Army officer Santosh Babu and 19 jawans were martyred in hand-to-hand combat with the Chinese troops on the Indo-China border. The mortal remains of Santosh Babu was recently cremated with military honours. The Colonel-rank Army officer hails from Telangana’s Suryapet. Santosh belongs to the 16th Battalion of Bihar. He has posted at the Indo-China border for more than two years. He was to be transferred to Hyderabad, but had to remain in Ladakh due to a corona imposed lockdown. He is survived by his wife, nine-year-old daughter Abhigna and four-year-old son Anirudh.
Santosh Babu is son of Upender and Manjula couple. Upender is a retired State Bank of India employee.
