Revamped Fauji Chowk opens

Tribune News Service

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Bathinda, September 24

Senior Army officials inaugurated the revamped Shaheed Nand Singh Chowk, also called Fauji Chowk, here on Monday. The occasion was the birth anniversary of Naib Subedar Nand Singh, known for his gallantry in World War II and India-Pak war in 1947. His statue stands in the middle of the chowk.

Lt Gen Cherish Mathson, Army Commander, Sapta Shakti Command, led the felicitation ceremony.

The chowk has been given a facelift by placing an obsolete artillery gun, installing photographs of the martyr and putting up a brief history of his supreme sacrifice.

Recipient of Maha Vir Chakra and Victoria Cross, Nand Singh was one of the heroes of the 1947 India-Pak war in Kashmir. While fighting for the 1 Sikh Regiment in Kashmir, he had engaged the enemy in hand-to-hand combat and killed five of them before a burst from a machine gun claimed his life.

Born on September 24, 1914, at Bahadurpur village, now in Mansa district, Nand Singh had single-handedly captured three Japanese-held trenches at Arakan in Burma (now Myanmar) during World War II in 1944.

“We are proud of his contribution to the motherland,” said Ravneet Kaur, Nand Singh’s granddaughter.

Meanwhile, commuters had a tough time as the Fauji Chowk, which is a crucial link to different parts of the city, was turned into a no-traffic zone since morning. It was opened to traffic around 12.30 pm.