1962 was history and will never be repeated: CM
TAWANG, 21 Nov: Chief Minister Pema Khandu, along with Eastern Command GOC, Lt Gen RP Kalita, dedicated the extended and renovated war memorial here to the nation on Monday morning, on the 60th year of the 1962 Sino-India war.
The memorial commemorates the martyred soldiers of the 1962 war.
Khandu, who paid respects to the martyrs of the 1962 war, said that “1962 was history and will never be repeated ever.”
“In 1962, the scenario was very different. The infrastructure in the region was very poor. Despite that, the Indian Army fought bravely and sacrificed thousands of lives to protect the motherland. But today, we are not what we were in 1962,” he said.
Khandu credited the central government that came to power under Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014 “for the infrastructural boost in Arunachal Pradesh and the Northeast.”
“The vast infrastructural development in the last eight years witnessed in the region, particularly along the border, has been unprecedented. It is benefitting not only the civilians but has strengthened the presence and logistics of the Indian Army in leaps and bounds,” he said.
Khandu informed that, in the coming years, highways will be built along the border from Arunachal’s west to east.
“The union ministry of road, transport and highways recently sanctioned road projects worth Rs 1.65 lakh crore for the Northeast, and with Rs 44,000 crore, Arunachal Pradesh is the highest recipient among the Northeastern states,” he informed.
He said that “a two-lane, 1,465-kilometre frontier highway will be undertaken by the MoRTH at an estimated cost of Rs 27,349 crore. It will change the road connectivity scenario along the border from Arunachal’s extreme east to west.”
“Being witness to the love and attention by the central and state governments for the welfare of the soldiers posted at border outposts, the morale of our soldiers is very high. Same is the case with our civilians residing in border areas. They are ready to fight any enemy contingent shoulder to shoulder with the Indian Army,” Khandu said.
He also inaugurated the newly constructed ‘veer aangan’ (courtyard) of the bravehearts alongside the war memorial, where the busts of brave soldiers who laid down their lives in the Sino-India war are installed.
The CM also dedicated a renovated ‘light and sound theme park’ to the people.
He informed that these were part of the first phase of a project initiated by the state government. He expressed optimism that work in the second phase, which has already been approved, will begin soon, “which is construction of the Major Bob Khating memorial.”
To mark the occasion, the army felicitated several local veterans of the 1962 war.
Also present were 4 Corps GOC Lt Gen Dinesh Singh Rana, 71 Mountain Division GOC Maj Gen Chiranjiv Manjul, 5 Mountain Division GOC Maj Gen LK Singh, 190 Mountain Brigade Commander Brig M N Bandigari, the Tawang monastery abbot, MLAs Tsering Tashi, Phurpa Tsering, Dongru Siongju, DW Kharma and Kumsu Sidisow, the deputy commissioners of Tawang, West Kameng and East Kameng districts, and zilla parishad members. (CM’s PR Cell)