The armed forces veterans have objected to the haste in which the foundation laying ceremony of the ‘War Memorial’ at Cheer Bagh is being organised. The Defence Minister, Manohar Parrikar
is slated to visit Dehradun for the ceremony on Saturday. The veterans have also raised a question mark over the proposed design of the memorial.
The Patron, Dehradun Ex-Services league, Brig. K.G. Behl (Rtd), said that no intimation of the ceremony has been sent to any ex-servicemen association. “The Ex-servicemen who had been chasing this project for a long time have been totally kept in the dark. And how it has been named as “Saurya Sthal” instead of War Memorial is also not known,’’ he said.
The President of Uttarakhand Ex services league, Brigadier R S Rawat (Rtd) said that by not inviting the veterans, the organizers have shown disrespect to them. lampooning the approved design of the memorial; Brig Rawat said that it is appropriate for a movie and not for a proper ‘War Memorial’ of the state. “ We would meet Rajya Sabha MP, Tarun Vijay and express out strong reservation on the present design and demand that this design should be scrapped,’’ he said.
