Port Blair, Dec. 6: The Flag Day is commemorated on Dec.7 every year in India. This year too, it will be celebrated on Dec.7. The day is observed to salute the gallant soldiers, honour the braves, express solidarity and support for welfare of ex-servicemen & their dependents. The Day is intended to honour the valiant and dead, to salute the veterans and brave and to enhance the traditional bonds that exist between citizens of the country and the Armed Forces. On this day, the services rendered by personnel of Army, Navy and Air Force are remembered. Rajya/Zila Sainik Boards observe this day to enlist public co-operation and support for three basic purposes –Rehabilitation of families of battle casualties; Welfare of serving personnel and their families and Re-settlement and welfare of ex-Servicemen and their families in general.
The Hon’ble Lieutenant Governor of Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Admiral D K Joshi, PVSM, AVSM, YSM, NM, VSM (Retd.) has appealed to the citizens to contribute generously to the Flag Day Fund. The collections made on this day are pooled into one fund known as Armed Forces Flag Day (AFFD) & the fund money is used for the cause of well-being of the ex-Servicemen and their dependents and for the welfare and rehabilitation of ex-servicemen community.
On this day, students, citizens and volunteer organisations etc. collect donations in exchange of Token Flags and Car Stickers throughout the country, which are distributed to the public through Rajya/Zila Sainik Boards of the States/UTs. A concerted effort is made on this day to raise as much as collection from the public. The significance of the day is to bring home the potential donors in a variety of ways. The Token Flags are being distributed to various Schools/Colleges/PSUs and Government Organizations/Departments by A&N Rajya Sainik Board, Port Blair for raising funds for the well-being & welfare schemes to assist the ex-servicemen, disabled soldiers, their widows and dependents of those who sacrificed their lives for the Nation.
In this regard, citizens have been requested to send their precious contributions through Cheques/Draft in favour of the ‘Armed Forces Flag Day Fund A & N Islands’ to Secretary, Rajya Sainik Board, Veer Senani Bhavan, Haddo, P.O Port Blair -744102 or by depositing the amount in AFFD Account No. 10605083942 (IFSC Code SBIN0000156).