Mysore/Mysuru: Deputy Commissioner Abhiram G. Sankar has instructed the officials to gear up for the construction of the proposed War Memorial in city.

Addressing a meeting at his office on Feb.25, the DC said that the War Memorial would come up in a Park next to the DC Office at a cost of Rs. 1.41 crore for which the Kannada and Culture Department has released Rs. 50 lakh as first instalment.

He instructed the officials of the Public Works Department (PWD) to complete the tender process before Mar. 20 and take up the construction. Continuing, he said that as per the proposed project, the Memorial structure should be constructed in the first phase and the display of medals and mementoes could be taken up in the second phase after taking suggestions and instructions of the Committee.

He instructed the officials to appoint the Deputy Director of the Sainik Welfare and Resettlement Department, Member-Secretaries, officials of the Kannada and Culture Department, Tourism Department, Horticulture Department and ex-servicemen to the Committee and work in tandem.

Kannada and Culture Assistant Director H. Chennappa, In-charge Deputy Director of Sainik Welfare and Resettlement Department Geetha Mahabala Shetty, Maj. Gen. S.G. Vombatkere (retd.), PWD Officials and others were present at the meeting.

It may be recalled that the   District Administration had taken a decision to erect a War Memorial to honour the soldiers who have laid down their lives for the country. This decision is also taken in a bid to instil patriotism among students and youth of the city.

The Ex-Servicemen Association had submitted a memorandum in this regard in 2010 to the District Administration, which had made a search for a place to house the Memorial. Due to some reasons, it was put in cold storage. In 2012, the process to set up the Memorial began    once again.

The then Assistant Commissioner (AC) of Mysuru C.L. Ananda (now serving as Additional Deputy Commissioner at Chamarajanagar), who himself had served in the army for 15 years, took up the cause and completed the necessary process and through the District Administration had sent the proposal to the State Government.

It was decided to construct the War Memorial in the five-acre Park to the right of the DC Office. The Park that comes under the District Administration is lying in a state of neglect. As it is in a prominent place, once a War Memorial comes up then it will gain importance. Opposite to the Park is the NCC Office, behind it the Scouts and Guides-Baden Powell School and surrounded by other institutions. Hence, it could attract the students’ attention and instil in them a sense of patriotism besides raising their curiosity about the armed forces.

The Memorial in the form of a Square will have the elements of the city’s heritage by using Hassan’s green stone. The main entrance depicting the three symbols of the armed forces combined will be constructed. The remaining three sides will have the Army, Air Force and Navy insignia separately and will display the army tanks, fighting planes, Navy ships, guns and other weapons used by the armed forces.

Mysuru city incomplete without War Memorial

M.N. Subramani, President of VeKare Ex-Servicemen Trust, Mysuru, has regretted that the War Memorial is yet to see the light of the day despite a lapse of nearly two decades except for some news appearing once in a while. He claimed that the land for construction of a Grand War Memorial was earmarked during the year 2000 itself as per his proposal in the vacant land in front of NCC Group Headquarters, Mysuru, by the then DC  Dr. B. Basavaraju. 

Speaking to Star of Mysore, Subramani, who is also a Retired Senior Non-Commissioned Officer of Indian Air Force, said that many ex-servicemen are of the opinion that the historical city of Mysuru is incomplete without a War Memorial.