Amarinder sanctions Rs 1.25 cr for development of native villages of 5 Punjab soldiers killed in Galwan Valley clash

Chandigarh, March 26

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Friday sanctioned Rs 25 lakh each for the development of native villages of five soldiers from the state killed during the Galwan Valley clash last year.

Reviewing the various welfare measures for ex-servicemen, he said it was a humble effort on the part of the state government to undertake the development of the villages of the soldiers killed in the Galwan Valley clash.

According to an official statement, Amarinder sanctioned Rs 25 lakh each for the development of Seel village in Patiala district from where Naib Subedar Mandeep Singh of 3 Medium Regiment belonged, Bhojraj village in Gurdaspur of Naib Subedar Satnam Singh of 3 Medium Regiment, Birewal Dogra in Mansa of Sepoy Gurtej Singh, a Vir Chakra awardee of 3 Punjab, Tolewal village in Sangrur of Sepoy Gurbrinder Singh of 3 Punjab, and Mardanheri village in Patiala of Lance Naik Saleem Khan of 58 Engineer Regiment.

Apart from the total Rs 1.25 crore sanctioned for the development of these five villages, the chief minister also approved Rs 18 crore for the Punjab State War Heroes Memorial and Museum at Amritsar, the statement said.

The Indian Army has built a memorial for its 20 personnel who were killed while valiantly fighting Chinese troops in Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh on June 15 last year.

In order to provide boarding and lodging facilities to ex-servicemen, war widows and their family members, Amarinder sanctioned Rs 4 crore for the construction of Sainik Rest Houses at Mansa and Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar.

He also approved Rs 39.50 lakh for the construction of the Victory Tower and renovation of the War Memorial at Asafwala in Fazilka district.

This memorial was constructed to commemorate the gallantry deeds of the soldiers who laid down their lives during the 1971 Indo-Pak war in Fazilka sector. PTI