Khandu inspects Army-civilian friendship event progress

TAWANG, Aug 25: Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Friday assessed the preparations for Tawang Maitree Diwas 2017, a festival to celebrate the Army-civilian friendship scheduled September 10-11 here at Tsangyang Gyatso Sports Stadium.
The Army, Yuva Arunachal and the district administration are organising the programme jointly.
Chairing the meeting here at DC’s conference hall, the chief minister emphasised on deepening the bond between the Army and civilians through Maitree Diwas, a report from the CMO said.
“Tawang today exemplifies the good coordination that exists between the Army, administration and the public,” he said.
Khandu said locals and Army personnel have always participated in each other’s activities for years. 
He credited much of Tawang district’s development to the presence of the Army and said many local youths have been absorbed in the armed forces.
Founder of Art of Living campaign, Ravi Shankar will be the chief guest of the programme that Union MoS Kiren Rijiju will also attend.
The chief minister took the opportunity to have a brief interaction with the heads of departments and officials on development issues of the district.
He said a committee comprising ministers and officials will next month inform the people about the Centre’s and state’s flagship programmes. He said due to poor knowledge about these programmes even among the officials, these schemes are not being availed by the people.
The chief minister said the answer to unemployment and poverty lie in successful implementation of these flagships programmes. A massive advertising campaign will be carried out through distribution of pamphlets, outreach campaigns, social and news media to inform the people about scores of schemes being offered by the Centre and the state, he said.
Khandu also sought to be updated on implementation of GST, Aadhar coverage, and status of open defecation free campaign.
He encouraged the officials to keep setting Tawang as an example in successful implementation of government’s programmes and schemes.
“Entire Arunachal appreciates Tawang for its good work culture and I hope our officers will not let us down,” the chief minister said.
In his vote of thanks, Brigadier MP Singh, Commander of the 190 Mountain Brigade thanked the chief minister for reinitiating the celebration of Maitree Diwas, which will be celebrated after 7 years.
RWD Parliamentary Secretary Jambey Tashi, Tawang MLA Tsering Tashi, public leaders, HoDs and the officials from the Army attended the meeting, the report said.