Martyr Vikram’s parents urge CM to repair statue

Our Correspondent

Palampur, November 30

Girdhari Lal Batra and Kamal Kant Batra, parents of Capt Vikram Batra (PVC), who sacrificed his life during the Kargil war, are peeved at the bad condition of their son’s statue at Pragati Maidan.

They today urged Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur to get the statue repaired at the earliest. They said the platform of the statue had developed cracks in the absence of repair and maintenance.

“Since the statue was installed by the government, it is its responsibility to look after it. And if it is unable to do so, then the upkeep of the statues of martyrs should be handed over to their families, the Army or private bodies,” said the martyr’s father.

The SDM, Palampur, said the statue would soon be repaired or replaced with a new one. The official said he was aware of the issue and was in touch with the local civic body that looked after the maintenance of the martyrs’ statues in the town .

The funds for the maintenance, repair and replacement of the martyrs’ statues are released by the Department of Language and Culture. The local authorities have no budget allocations for the same.

The DC, Kangra, has already sent a proposal to the state government seeking funds for the purpose.