Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren has announced his decision to provide land to the dependents of jawans from the state who died in the recent skirmish with Chinese soldiers.

Hemant made the announcement while speaking to reporters at the Birsa Munda international stadium on Thursday night after paying his respect to the mortal remains of the two jawans martyred in Galwan Valley on Monday night.

“We will give land to the dependents of the martyred jawans free of cost. They can claim the land as per their choice of site,” he said.

“The land will be to set up petrol pumps... It is to help the families earn descent livelihood and be self-dependent,” Hemant added.

Chief minister Hemant Soren pays his respect to the remains of sepoy Ganesh Hansda in Ranchi on Thursday Manob Chowdhury

Soldiers carry the remains of sepoy Hansda in Ranchi on Thursday Manob Chowdhury

Former chief minister Raghubar Das lays a wreath at the event on Thursday Manob Chowdhury

Jharkhand governor Droupadi Murmu, cabinet ministers and several MLAs were at the airport to pay their respect to the jawans.

Kundan Kumar Ojha, 24, of Sahibganj and Ganesh Hansda, 23, of Bahragora in East Singhbhum were martyred on Monday night along with 18 other Indian soldiers. Both were with the 16 Bihar regiment in the rank of sepoys. While Ojha was due to return home to see his three-week-old daughter, Hansda wanted to build a pucca house for his family.

Governor Draupadi Murmu pays homage to sepoy Hansda at the event in Ranchi Manob Chowdhury