Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today urged the Union Minister for Tourism and Culture Affairs Shripad Yesso Naik, to extend substantial financial assistance from his Ministry towards the upcoming state-of-the-art War Heroes' Memorial cum Museum at Amritsar. In a letter to Naik, the Chief Minister apprised him that the State of Punjab has borne the brunt of three full-fledged wars in which many of its Heroes have laid down their lives to safeguard the nation. He said that in order to commemorate the supreme sacrifices made by these great sons of the soil, the state Government has decided to set up a state-of-the-art War Heroes' Memorial cum Museum at Amritsar on 7 acres of land on the Amritsar-Attari Road. Mr. Badal said that this step was in consonance with our glorious tradition of honouring the brave hearts of the nation.
The Chief Minister informed Mr. Naik that the foundation stone of this Rs. 100 Crore prestigious project was laid on February 12, this year in presence of highly decorated men and officers from Indian Army, Indian Air Force and Navy adding that the work on the project commenced on site during May, 2014. He further said that this project was first of its kind which aims at giving due recognition to the martyrs of the country, who laid down their life while serving the Armed forces.
The Chief Minister further said that although, the State Government has made adequate arrangement of funds for the completion of this project through the imposition of Cultural Cess but would not be in a position to bear the entire burden of the cost of setting up this unique Memorial, which was likely to be completed by October, 2015. Mr. Badal requested the Union Minister that as per the commitment of Government of India to fund projects of iconic nature, which create awareness and national pride amongst the youth of today, the Centre must provide liberal financial assistance to the state government for this ambitious project.