On Vijay Diwas, renovated National War Memorial inaugurated

On Vijay Diwas, renovated National War Memorial inaugurated

THE inauguration of the renovated National War Memorial at Morwada junction on Vijay Diwas is a glorious moment for all officers of the Southern Command and people of the city and the nation,” saidLtGenNThamburaj,General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, SouthernCommandduringtheVijay Diwas celebrations on Tuesday.

Clearing the air over the renaming of the National War Memorial, Lt Gen Thamburaj said, “All the controversies have been laid to rest... there is no issue left. The war memorial has been a ‘national’ war memorial and it will continue to be so.” Speaking on the occasion, Thamburaj said, “The inauguration of the renovated National War Memorial on Vijay Diwas is a significant moment. It was on this day in 1971 that the Indian army routed the Pakistani army, which was then followed by the creation of Bangladesh. The memorial reminds us of those who laid down their lives for the nation.” Thamburaj added, “Today on Vijay Diwas, it was a great privilege for me to lay a wreath in the memoryofallmartyrsonbehalfofallthe ranks of the Southern Command.” The unveiling saw various past and present officers of the three services lay wreaths in memory of the martyrs. Prominent amongst those present were, Lt Gen (Retd) H.Khanna,Admiral(Retd)JNadkarni, Air Chief Marshal (Retd) H Moolgaonkar. From the current batch of serving officers, Rear Admiral R Bajaj, Air Marshal T Randhawa,andLtGenRChabbra (Chief of Staff), Southern Command were present.

In addition to the officers of the three services, Mayor Rajlaxmi Bhosale and the Police Commis sioner S Singh also offered wreaths for those who lost their lives defending the nation.

AirMarshalTRandhawa,Commandant NDA, said, “Never before in the history of warfare has such a significant result been achieved, as the 1971 war. I had missed out seeing action as during those days, after passing out from the NDA, a cadet was commissioned into the army after a year of training, navy after six months and air force after one-and-a-half year. However, today, on Vijay Diwas, the inauguration of the renovated National War Memorial is an apt way to salute those who died in the service of the nation.” The memorial will feature an addition of 1,500 names to the list of martyrs. When the memorial was opened in 1998, there were 1,080 names of officers. It was renovated underthesupervisionoftheSouthern Command and was executed by HQ Pune Sub Area and Pune Cantonment Board.

The new memorial boasts a new wall, gate, pathways, a Vijayanta Tank and landscaping. Stone galleries have engravings on them, providingaccountsofmajorbattles and the names of war heroes, said Lt Gen R Chabbra, Chief Of Staff, Southern Command.