India to rename Teen Murti Chowk as ‘Teen Murti Haifa Chowk’ for PM Netanyahu visit

January 14, 2018 01:16 pm | Updated 01:16 pm IST - NEW DELHI

As a symbolic gesture of friendship with Israel, India will rename the iconic Teen Murti Chowk, a war memorial, during the visit of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu which begins on Sunday, official sources said. The new name of the war memorial located in a round-about near the Teen Murti Bhavan, the official residence of the first Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru will be, Teen Murti Haifa Chowk.

Reports suggest that the decision to rename the iconic landmark of the national capital was taken during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Israel in July 2017. However the formal ceremony to rename the landmark will take place after Prime Minister Netanyahu lands in Delhi.

“Immediately after arrival PM Netanyahu and PM Modi will participate in a solemn ceremony at Teen Murti Memorial to pay homage to the soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice. The leaders will lay a wreath, and sign the visitor’s book. The ceremony will also mark the formal renaming of Teen Murti Chowk as the Teen Murti Haifa Chowk by the NDMC,” official sources said.

Prime Minister Modi had indicated at the renaming during his visit to Haifa last year where he unveiled a plaque commemorating the leadership of Major Dalpat Singh who led the successful operation. 2018 marks a centenary of the end of the World War I and the Battle of Haifa.

Teen Murti War Memorial has three life-size bronze statues representing the Hyderabad, Jodhpur and Mysore Lancers who participated in the Battle of Haifa for the 15 Imperial Service Cavalry Brigade. The victorious operation by the Indian soldiers carried out on 23 September 1918 targeted the fortification of the city of Haifa which was then controlled by a joint Ottoman, German and Austro-Hungarian force. The Indian soldiers fighting for the Allied Powers, captured Haifa and cleared a crucial route for the Allies. A total of 44 Indian soldiers from the three princely states died during the liberation of Haifa.

However, there was some confusion in the naming process as initial photographs from the venue suggested that both the memorial as well as the Teen Murti Marg which radiates from the roundabout will be renamed.

Photographs had shown that New Delhi Municipal Corporation’s workers were printing ‘Teen Murti Haifa Marg’ on the road signs as well. However the NDMC sources said though the name of the Teen Murti Chowk had been changed to Teen Murti Haifa Chowk, the civic body had had new boards made for Teen Murti Marg as well. Workers were testing out the ‘Teen Murti Haifa Marg’ boards on Saturday evening, before the NDMC got confirmation from the MEA about the name change of the chowk alone, said an NDMC official. The official added that name displayed on the boards on Teen Murti Marg had gone back to the old one, without Haifa.

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