Fund unutilised, Saragarhi memorial awaits facelift
Anirudh Gupta
Ferozepur, September 10
Even after two years of release of Rs 1 crore grant by the Chief Minister for the beautification and development of the historic Saragarhi memorial, the funds have not been used for the said purpose. The monument was raised to pay homage to 22 valiant 36 Sikh Regiment soldiers of the British Indian Army who died fighting 10,000 Afridis during the Battle of Saragarhi on September 12, 1897, in North-West Frontier Province, now in Pakistan.
After The Tribune on September 9, 2019 highlighted the failure of successive regimes to develop the memorial, Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh had sanctioned Rs 1 crore to develop the memorial, depicting the saga of unparalleled chivalry in the history of military warfare. However, due to procedural wrangles, development work never took off.
As per information, the district administration had released a tender inviting proposals for preparing detailed project report for the development of the memorial in June, but no progress has been made on ground thereafter. Though a project on the construction of the Tourist Felicitation Centre under centrally funded Swadesh Darshan Scheme is afoot, all promises and commitments by the consecutive state governments have not been honoured till date.
Capt Amarinder Singh had promised to make the memorial as one of the iconic monuments in the country as this saga of Saragarhi has been close to his heart.
Tribute to soldiers
The monument was raised to pay homage to 22 valiant 36 Sikh Regiment soldiers of the British Indian Army who died fighting 10,000 Afridis during the Battle of Saragarhi on September 12, 1897, in North-West Frontier Province, now in Pakistan.
