A Bangalore-based organisation will renovate a war memorial in Uttar Pradesh that was built in honour of a Param Vir Chakra-awardee soldier who died defending the country in Indo-Pak war in 1965.
Flags of Honour Foundation, Bangalore, will renovate the memorial that was built in honour of Abdul Hamid in his village Dhamupur in Ghazipur district. Uttar Pradesh government had built it in 1999. Today it lies in ruins and neglect.
At a press meet held on Tuesday to announce its decision to renovate the memorial, a spokesperson of Flags of Honour Foundation said they found out that the village authorities were unable to maintain the memorial because of lack of funds. He said the martyr’s family had been trying to maintain the place but there was not much they could do with their limited means.
The spokesperson said when the foundation saw that the memorial was in a shambles, it got in touch with the horticulture department in UP and got their consent for the renovation. It includes restoring Hamid’s statue, maintaining the lawn, and repairing the gate and the compound wall. They aim to complete the renovation by September 10, the death anniversary of the soldier.
Noting that Param Vir Chakra is the country’s highest gallantry award, the spokesperson said it was imperative that Hamid’s sacrifice be respected by at least maintaining the memorial built in his honour. “To neglect the memory of a person who died fighting for us is utterly disrespectful,” he said.
He added that in today’s scenario, when the army’s role becomes particularly important in the backdrop of increasing violence from outside and inside the country, we ought to respect and honour the contribution of armymen who lost their lives to defend us.
Founder of the Flags of Honour Foundation, Rajeev Chandrashekar, said as a nation it was important to keep the memories of fallen soldiers alive so that their sacrifice might inspire future generations. The foundation would be looking out for other war memorials as well that need repair and take up renovation there.
