Parents of martyr on fast over son’s memorial in Hadapsar

PUNE: Unhappy about the delay in building a memorial for their son, parents of gunner Saurabh Farate who was killed at Pampore in December 2016, began a fast on Tuesday. They said the memorial, pending for over 15 months, should be completed before his next death anniversary.
The memorial was approved by an all-party committee of the PMC in 2017. The standing committee made a provision of Rs 50 lakh for the memorial. “We will build the memorial in Hadapsar. A provision has been made in the 2018-19 budget,” the committee’s chairman Murlidhar Mohol said.

Farate, a gunner in the Indian army, was from Bhekrainagar in Hadapsar. He had joined the army in 2004 and was posted in Jammu & Kashmir. Farate, Shashikant Pandey and Ratheesh C died when terrorists attacked their convoy.

Farate’s parents had met the mayor in September 2017 to request that the memorial be completed before his first death anniversary.

His father Nandakumar Farate said promises political leaders made are hollow. “Elected members visited my home after my son’s death. They gave us their word about the memorial. But nothing has happened. We have started a fast,” he told TOI.

The parents suggested some places near Hadapsar and Bhekrainagar for the memorial. They want his bust installed in Bankar high school in Hadapsar where he studied.

“We are waiting for the memorial and had suggested a place in Hadapsar,” his mother Mangala Farate said.

Farate’s friends and a few retired army men, who joined the protest, said he sacrificed his life for the country.