Itanagar, Nov. 21 (PTI): Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu and Eastern Army Commander Lt Gen R P Kalita on Monday dedicated the extended and renovated War Memorial at Tawang to the nation on the 60th year of the 1962 Indo-China war.
The War Memorial, in the picturesque township of Tawang, commemorates the martyred soldiers of the 1962 war.
Khandu, who paid his respects to the martyrs of the war at the memorial, reaffirmed that "1962 was history and will never be repeated ever".
"In 1962, the scenario was very different. The infrastructure in the region was very poor. Despite that the Indian Army fought bravely and sacrificed thousands of lives to protect the motherland. But today, we are not what we were in 1962," he said.
Khandu credited the BJP government led by Narendra Modi for the infrastructural boost in Arunachal Pradesh and North East.
"The vast infrastructural development in the last eight years witnessed in the region, particularly along the border has been unprecedented. It is benefitting not only the civilians but has strengthened the presence and logistics of the Indian Army in leaps and bounds," he said.
The chief minister said that in the coming years, highways would be built along the border from Arunachal's west to east.
"Union Ministry of Road, Transport and Highways recently sanctioned road projects worth Rs 1.65 lakh crore for the North East and at INR 44,000 crore, Arunachal Pradesh is the highest recipient among the north-eastern states," Khandu informed.
He said that a two-lane 1,465-km frontier highway will be undertaken by MoRTH at an estimated cost of INR 27,349 crore that will change the road connectivity scenario along the border from Arunachal's extreme east to west.
"Being witness to the love and attention by the central and state government for welfare of the soldiers posted at border outposts, the morale of our soldiers is very high. The same is the case with our civilians residing in border areas. They are ready to fight any enemy contingent shoulder to shoulder with the Indian Army," Khandu added.
On the occasion, the chief minister also inaugurated the newly constructed 'Veer-Aangan' or courtyard of bravehearts alongside the War Memorial, where the busts of brave soldiers who laid down their lives in the Sino-India war are installed besides dedicating to the people a renovated Light and Sound theme park.
Khandu said that these were part of the first phase of a project initiated by the state government. He expressed optimism that work on the second phase, which has already been approved, will begin soon, which is construction of the Major Bob Khating Memorial.
To mark the occasion, the Army felicitated several local veterans of the 1962 war.
Also present were GOC 4 Corps Lt Gen Dinesh Singh Rana, GOC 71 Mountain Division Maj Gen Chiranjiv Manju1, GOC 5 Mountain Division Maj Gen L K Singh, Commander 190 Mountain Brigade Brig M N Bandigari, Abott of Tawang Monastery, MLAs Tsering Tashi, Phurpa Tsering, Dongru Siongju D W Kharma and Kumsu Sidisow.