Punjab Chief Minister Mr Parkash Singh Badal today gave nod for constituting a concept committee for evolving consensus on the concept and design of the state-of-art War Memorial cum museum to be constructed on Amritsar- Attari road, for showcasing the supreme sacrifices made by the Punjabis while serving in the Armed forces.
The Chief Minister held marathon discussions with decorated retired officers of the Armed forces here at Punjab Bhawan today to solicit their views on the concept and design of this world class memorial to come up at around seven acres of land on Amritsar-Attari road. Presiding over the meeting Mr Badal said that this magnificent memorial would be a befitting tribute to commemorate the remarkable contribution made by the Punjabi soldiers and officers to defend the sovereignty of the country during the wars against nation. He said that this project would be an engineering marvel equipped with high end technology so as to exhibit the enormous contribution of the valiant Punjabis in the Armed forces.
In order to envisage the entire perspective plan of this project, the Chief Minister approved a joint concept committee of the officers of the state government and representatives of the Armed forces to draft a blue print for completing this prestigious project in coming two years. The concept committee comprising Principal Secretary Defence Services Welfare Mr Vishwajeet Khanna, Special Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Mr KJS Cheema, Chairman Punjab Public Service commission Lieutenant General RS Sujlana (Retd.), Lieutenant General HRS Mann (Retd.), Major General Harishjit Singh (Retd.), Major General MP Singh (Retd.), Brigadier BS Gill (Retd.), Brigadier NS Sandhu (Retd.) and Brigadier SS Ahluwalia (Retd.) has been asked by Mr Badal to submit its report within two months.
The Chief Minister also asked the concept committee to include eminent Military Historians as its members for assisting them to conceptualise the outlining of this prestigious project. He said that the concept committee was free to visit the world class War Memorials like those constructed at Dacca (Bangladesh), France, Israel or any other part of the world for having a better idea for constructing this state-of-art memorial. The Chief Minister said that he has already sought the co-operation from the Chief of Army, Navy and Air Force for providing the record pertaining to the sacrifices of Punjabis adding that they have assured fulsome support and co-operation to the state government. Mr Badal also said that the state government has already earmarked Rs 10 crore for initiating this project.
Reiterating the firm commitment of the state government to disseminate the rich legacy of state to the coming generations, the Chief Minister said that the state government has already constructed state of art Virasat-e-Khalsa memorial at Sri Anandpur Sahib, memorials of big and small holocaust in Kup Rahira and Kahnuwan respectively and Baba Banda Singh Bahadur War memorial at Chappar Chiri.
Likewise Mr Badal said that in order to showcase the contribution of Punjabis in the Indian National Freedom Struggle the state government was constructing a world class ‘Jang-e-Azaadi’ memorial at Kartarpur near Jalandhar. Besides Mr Badal said memorials of Bhagwan Parshuram, Baba Jiwan Singh, Baba Moti Ram Mehra and Swami Vivekanand would also come up soon in Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar, Sri Anandpur Sahib, Fatehgarh Sahib and Amritsar respectively.
Prominent amongst those present in the meeting included Rajya Sabha MP Mr Balwinder Singh Bhunder, Principal Secretary Defence Services Welfare Mr Vishwajeet Khanna, Special Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Mr KJS Cheema, Director Defence Service Welfare Brigadier Manjit Singh (Retd.), Officer on Special Duty Colonel BS Brar (Retd.), Chief Architect Punjab Mrs Sapna, Chairman Punjab Public Service commission Lieutenant General RS Sujlana (Retd.), Lieutenant General NS Brar (Retd.), Lieutenant General PN Hoon (Retd.), Lieutenant General HRS Mann (Retd.), Lieutenant General Tej Sapru (Retd.), Air Marshal RS Bedi (Retd.), Major General KAS Bhullar, Major General Hardev Singh (Retd.), Major General Harishjit Singh (Retd.), Major General MP Singh (Retd.), Major General MS Virk (Retd.), Brigadier BS Gill (Retd.), Brigadier NS Sandhu (Retd.), Brigadier SS Ahluwalia (Retd.), Brigadier GJ Singh (Retd.), Brig IS Gakhal (Retd.) and Commander Tarlochan Singh.