MC looking at suitable place to shift martyr’s memorial

Ludhiana: As the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has already begun construction work for the elevated road project from Samrala Chowk to Ferozepur Road octroi post, civic officials are now locating a suitable place to shift the memorial of Major Bhupinder Singh, who laid down his life in the 1965 war against Pakistan.
In this regard, a meeting was conducted by the MC commissioner with members of the Sainik Welfare Board for shifting the memorial. Two sites have been proposed for the shifting — one near Sherpur Chowk, where MC had designed a Smart City logo; and the second is Maharaja Ranjit Singh War Memorial on GT Road. MC officials have asked members of the Sainik Welfare Board to discuss these two sites with their other members, as well as family members of Major Bhupinder Singh.

MC commissioner Jaskiran Singh said the shifting would be done by the district administration, but they would have to locate the place first. He said they had conveyed two sites to officers concerned, who would now give their consent for the same.

At present, the memorial is installed near Government College for Girls on the side of the road towards Jagraon Bridge. For the elevated road project, the NHAI would require a vacant stretch for the construction of service lanes for movement of city traffic, but this memorial would create a hindrance in the path. Therefore, MC has been asked to find a suitable place to shift it.

Construction work for the project kicked off a month ago, despite the fact that some residents showed resistance, as trees would be axed. Now, officials claimed they had formed a committee to find out measures to save the trees. On Ferozepur Road in some locations, the road portion has been blocked, and traffic diverted. The total cost of the project is Rs 770 crore.

Notably, in the battle of Sodreke in Pakistan, Major Bhupinder Singh’s tank was hit by the enemy, catching caught fire. The Major was severely burnt, and he succumbed to his injuries on October 4, 1965. He was posthumously bestowed with the Maha Vir Chakra. Initially, his statue was installed in Bharat Nagar Chowk on October 30, 1979, but it was relocated to its existing location on December 7, 1995.