Samba, Dec 17: Param Veer Chakra (posthumously) Second Lieutenant Arun Khetarpal’s younger brother Mukesh Khetarpal on Saturday interacted with a group of local youth getting training at the District Youth Training & Empowerment (DYTE) Centre Vijaypur Block.
He shared with trainees the memories of the war hero of ‘the Battle of Basanter of 1971 war’ and encouraged them to pursue a career in the armed forces. During the interactive session, Mukesh Khetarpal provided an insight into the life of Martyr Second Lt. Arun Khetarpal, PVC who made supreme sacrifice at the age of 21 years on 16 December 1971 in the battlefield of Shakargarh during the Indo-Pak 1971 war.
“Samba is called the Land of Warriors and until now hundreds of locals have rendered selfless services to the nation by serving in armed forces,” he said, adding that the training of youth at early stages of life is paramount for a disciplined and successful life.
“Second Lieutenant Arun Khetarpal was born in Pune on October 14, 1950. His father Brigadier ML Khetarpal served in the Corps of Engineers of the Indian Army. He joined the academy in June 1967. He was the Squadron Cadet Captain of the 38th course at the NDA. In June 1971, Khetarpal was commissioned in the 17 Poona Horse of the Armoured Corps of the Army,” the guest speaker said.
Earlier, Sulakshna Thakur, Assistant Director Employment informed that DYTEs set up in different blocks of the district, is an initiative of district administration Samba taken under the aegis of Mission Youth J&K. “As many as 70 youth are undergoing physical and academic training in each centre for qualifying various armed and paramilitary jobs,” she added.
On the occasion, the resource persons from the Indian Army briefed the trainees about the eligibility and pattern of examination for joining the armed forces.
