The Mysuru Ex-Servicemen Movement (MEM) and VeKare Ex-Servicemen Trust (VKET) have urged the government to reconstitute the War Memorial Committee.
Honorary Legal Adviser of MEM and president of VKET Mandetira N. Subramani put forth the demand for reconstitution the committee at a Shram Dhan programme organised by MEM and VKET to clean the 1,000 steps leading to Chamundi Hills and their surroundings early on Sunday morning.
The proposal to establish a war memorial in Mysuru was pending since two decades, Mr. Subramani said and urged the authorities to reconstitute the committee by involving only retired senior armed force officers and serving officers posted in Mysuru. He claimed that the committee had only civilian authorities and had outlived its tenure without any tangible result.
While addressing the ex-servicemen, Mr. Subramani said he had proposed to the Mysuru district administration in 2000 to establish a war memorial when he was the president of Air Force Friends’ Association, Mysuru. His proposal had been accepted and the land adjacent to the Deputy Commissioner’s office and in front of NCC Group headquarters, which used to be a parade ground in the British era, was earmarked for building the war memorial by the then Deputy Commissioner Basavaraju, Mr. Subramani said. But, the war memorial is yet to become a reality even after two decades, he said. Mr. Subramani said he would approach former Army Commander Lt. Gen P.C. Thimmaya, who has chosen Mysuru to lead his retired life and request him to impress upon the district administration and also the Army Headquarters to establish a grand war memorial in Mysuru at the earliest.
He also said that the district administration will be requested to invite willing architects to provide a few more new designs so that one of the best designed war memorials can come up in southern part of India and in Mysuru.
Fund sanctioned
Additional Deputy Commissioner of Chamarajanagar district C.L. Anand, also an army veteran, who participated in the Shram Dhan programme on Sunday, said the government had sanctioned ₹1.44 crore for establishing the war memorial in Mysuru about three years ago. But, the work on constructing the memorial is yet to start for various reasons, including the COVID-19 pandemic, he said.
Meanwhile, more than 100 ex-servicemen, who are members of MEM and the public undergoing training at Sainik Academy, Mysuru, participated in the Shram Dhan conducted between 7 a.m. to 10.30 a.m.
