Dehradun, Oct. 26 -- Uttarakhand minister for soldier welfare Ganesh Joshi met defence minister Rajnath Singh in New Delhi on Saturday and expressed his gratitude to the central government for increasing various grants for ex-servicemen and their dependents ahead of Diwali. During the meeting, Joshi apprised the defence minister of ongoing schemes and projects under the Sainik Welfare Department in Uttarakhand, including the progress of the Sainik (Sainya) Dham project in Dehradun. Taking a cue from Prime Minister Narendra Modi terming Uttarakhand as Sainya Dham, the fifth dham after traditional Char Dhams, Trivendra Singh Rawat, the then chief minister, in 2020 had announced that the state government will set up Sainya Dham in Dehradun. Prime Minister Narendra Modi during an election rally in Rudrapur in March 2019 had said that "Devbhoomi Uttarakhand has char dhams, but today I add a fifth one-Sainya Dham- as every second house in this state is of an army man" In December 2021, defence minister Rajnath Singh and chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami had performed Bhoomi Pujan (ground-breaking ceremony ) for the construction of Sainya Dham, to be built at a cost of about Rs.63 crore at Guniyal village in Dehradun. The main gate of the Sainya Dham is being built in the name of the country's first CDS General Bipin Rawat, officials had said. Sacred soil collected from the courtyards of 1734 martyrs and sacred water collected from 28 major rivers of the state is being has been used in the foundation stone of the main pillar of Amar Jawan Jyoti at the Sainya Dham Meanwhile, Joshi also informed the defence minister about the government's initiatives aimed at the welfare of ex-servicemen and the families of martyrs. The minister also thanked the central government for revising the destitution grant from Rs.4,000 to Rs.8,000, the education grant from Rs.1,000 to Rs.2,000, and the marriage grant from Rs.50,000 to Rs.1 lakh. The defence minister lauded the Uttarakhand government's efforts towards the welfare of soldiers and their families and assured all possible cooperation from the Ministry of Defence. "Uttarakhand is a land of heroes, and the contribution of its youth to national defence is a matter of immense pride. Under the leadership of chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, the state government remains committed to the honour and welfare of soldiers and families of martyrs," Joshi said....