Agencies
GUWAHATI, SEPTEMBER 2
The state will have its first war memorial depicting the 1671 Battle of Saraighat. It will give fitting salutations to the martyrs and heroes of the land who had laid down their lives for the motherland.
The memorial, an initiative of the Rajya Sainik Board, with support from the state government, is expected to be completed by next year and will be erected at a prime location in the city. It will stand adjacent to the northern side of the Dighilipukhuri Tank just opposite to the Gauhati High Court.
The memorial will also portray the iconic Amar Jyoti flame, a reverse arm salute commemorating the martyrs’ sacrifice, three relief panels depicting iconic battle scenes from pre and post Independent India and a big photograph of the iconic 1971 surrender of Pakistani Army at the hands of the Indian Army.“The choice of the site is important as Dighilipukhuri Tank was considered important during the Ahom period. In Assam, we don’t have a state-level war memorial. We have one at Tezpur commemorating the 1962 War but it is for the unknown soldiers who died during the war. The one that will be set up in the city will be a complete one saluting the heroes of the state and of the country,” said director of Sainik Welfare Board and secretary Rajya Sainik Board Commodore (retired) KC Choudhury.
The ambitious project has been in place for over two decades but couldn’t be implemented as a suitable place for the memorial was not found until the state government allotted the slated plot near the tank, a prominent location in the heart of the city.
Choudhury, who has been at the helm of the project for the past 20 years, said the memorial would be able to inspire the young generation to reminisce about the heroes of the state and of the motherland.
“I was struggling for the project for the past 20 years. I am thankful to chief minister Tarun Gogoi who has supported the project for allotting the land,” added Choudhury.
Noted sculpture Biren Singha is designing the statues depicting the battle of Saraighat and other artifact for the memorial. The memorial will also incorporate a park and other facilities and will be completed within the next six months but the completion of the statues will take time.
