Himachal Pradesh minister Kishan Kapoor Friday said steps were being taken to make the
Rs 9.85 crore worth 'War Museum' in the state "world-class".
"The leaders of the previous government were in a hurry to fix their names on the inauguration plaques of this museum before the state assembly election. The museum should not have been inaugurated without its completion," Kapoor said.
The state food, civil supplies and consumer affairs minister was presiding over a meeting organised here to discuss the progress of the museum and the necessary steps required to make it world-class.
He asked the officers concerned to accelerate the process of procuring material from various commands of the Army to be displayed at the museum.
Kapoor instructed Brigadier (Retd) S K Verma, Director, Sainik Welfare Department, to speed up the work in this direction.
The minister said the War Museum Steering committee has requested for 45 items related to military equipment for displaying in the museum.
"Chief Minister Jayaram Thakur has already spoken to the defence minister and urged to make these items available for this museum. 31 items have been received so far," he said.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader said these equipment will be taken from various commands of the three organs of the Army, including Jabalpur, Hyderabad and Delhi.
He said the chief minister has released Rs 1 crore for the war museum and there will be no shortage of funds for its development. He also reiterated the government's commitment to provide adequate staff for the operation of the museum.
Kapoor assured that the museum will be thrown open to public soon.
Spread over an area of 2,190 square metres, the War Museum displays statue of General Zorawar Singh and murals of heroic deeds on the outside. The inner hall houses busts of Vir Chakra awardees, Jamedar Bhandan Ram and Jamedar Lala with write ups of their legend on the wall.
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