Hyderabad, June 19: The country should send a message to the Defence forces guarding the borders that it stood with them, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao said on Friday as he announced ex-gratia to the families of 20 soldiers killed in the Indo-China faceoff in Ladakh.

The Telangana government would give Rs five crore ex- gratia to the family of 39-year old Colonel Bikkumalla Santosh Babu and Rs 10 lakh each to the kin of the 19 other soldiers who were martyred in the high altitude border clash with the Chinese troops in Galwan Valley on Monday night, he said. Also Read | MPSC Mains Final Result 2019 Declared: Prasad Chaugule Tops the State Service Main Exam, Check Topper List Online at mpsc.gov.in.

The Centre and other state governments should also come forward to support the families of the martyrs, Rao told Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the virtual all-party meet on the border face-off, an official release said.

The country should support the soldiers who are defending it in the borders. We should support the families of soldiers who were martyred, thereby we should instill confidence in the (minds of) soldiers and their families. We should send a message to all Defence forces that the country is with them, Rao said. Also Read | Rajya Sabha Elections 2020 Results: State-Wise And Party-Wise List of Names of Winning MPs.

Besides the ex-gratia, the wife of the Colonel, who belonged to Telangana, would be given a Group-1 job in the government besides a house plot, the release quoted the Chief Minister as saying. The Rs 10 lakh relief to the 19 families will be given through the Defence Minister, Rao added.

Though there were financial constraints due to the coronavirus pandemic, all governments should minimise their other expenditure and extend support for the welfare of the brave soldiers.

Santosh, commanding officer of the 16 Bihar Regiment, had led the soldiers during the fierce clash with Chinese troops in the first such incident involving fatalities after a gap of 45 years, signalling a massive escalation in the five-week border standoff in the sensitive region.

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