Mysuru: A Special Heritage Committee has given its consent to erect a War Memorial in the five-acre park (City Survey No. 2048) that is to the right of the DC office.

At a meeting held at the DC Office here yesterday chaired by Deputy Commissioner D. Randeep, after a detailed discussion, the members of the Committee gave its consent to construct a War Memorial.

Town Planning Member (TPM) B. N. Girish proposed the subject and highlighted the various issues about the memorandum submitted by Ex-Servicemen Association in this regard.

The Mysuru City Corporation had sent a proposal to the Deputy Commissioner for his approval. Since the proposed memorial comes under the city heritage limits and a No Objection Certificate (NOC) is required, it has been got, he said.

As the Memorial is for the soldiers, who have laid down their lives for the country and the Government is going to bear the cost of the 4,000 sq. ft platform and 11.4 metre high pillar, the proposal has been sent accordingly, said Girish.

The Commissioner of the Department of Archaeology, Museums and Heritage has given the NOC stating that the height of the pillar cannot exceed 12 metres. The proposed memorial, which is going to come up in the five-acre park, comes under the Group 3C-1 limits, he told the meeting.

In the master plan excluding the garden and open ground, the approval has been given for an open-air theatre, indoor stadium, library, security guard room and a milk centre not exceeding 5 per cent of the space, he said.

Finally, the meeting decided that it is a matter of pride for Mysuru to honour the martyrs who have laid down their lives for the nation and hence a War Memorial has to be set up.  

MUDA Commissioner P.S. Kantharaju, Superintending Engineer Suresh Babu, MUDA Town Planning Assistant Director Seema, Committee Members Prof. Shakeeb Ur Rehman, N.C. Narayana Shastry, Gavisiddaiah and others were present.

Meanwhile, the then Assistant Commissioner C.L. Anand, who himself had served in the army for 15 years and taken up the cause and completed the necessary process and through the District administration sent the proposal to the State Government, speaking to Star of Mysore this morning said “The Indian Army has agreed to give a gun and a tank. The gun has already arrived and the tank will take another one to one-and-a-half-months to come.”

Anand, who is now the Bagalkot Special DC for the Upper Krishna Project, said that there is no place to pay respect to the soldiers who are from the Mysuru region after they lay down their lives and hence a War Memorial is a suitable place to bring the body of the martyr and pay respect.