Himachal: Protest against allotment of war memorial land for EV charging station

Himachal Pradesh: At a time when national pride in the armed forces is high due to the ongoing tension between India and Pakistan, the district administration’s decision to allot a part of the land of the state war memorial in Dharamshala for setting up an electric vehicle (EV) charging station has been criticised by army veterans. The proposed project will use a significant portion of the memorial’s existing parking space. Army veterans and locals have expressed concern, calling the move an “insult” to the memories of soldiers who laid down their lives for the country. “The property of the war memorial should remain with it, irrespective of which department or agency develops it. The ownership rights of the memorial should be transferred to the society,” said Col KK Dhadwal (retd), president of the Himachal Pradesh State War Memorial Development Society. He said the foundation stone of the memorial, developed on 7.5 acres, was laid on February 24, 1972 by then chief minister Dr YS Parmar and it was opened to the public on September 28, 1977 by then chief minister Shanta Kumar. “This memorial honours the war heroes of the hill state who sacrificed their lives while protecting the honour of our country during the invasions by Pakistan in 1947-1948, China in 1962 and again in 1965, 1971 and 1999 (Kargil War),” Col Dhadwal (retd) said.

Besides, the names of the martyrs during peacekeeping missions in Sri Lanka are also inscribed on three curved walls made of black marble. Built in a forest area with tall pine trees, beautiful gardens and walkways, this war memorial was managed by the Public Works Department and the district administration for about 24 years, after which it was handed over to the War Memorial Development Society in 2001. Since then, the administrative control of the memorial is with this society run by army veterans. In 2022, suddenly the district administration acquired a part of the war memorial land to set up an EV charging station. The disputed land of about 325 square yards has been handed over to the transport department, which has signed an agreement with Reliance Jio company to set up an EV charging station. Society officials JWO KC Thakur and Colonel Kartar Singh (retired) revealed that a few days ago, officials of Reliance Jio company and the transport department had come to the war memorial to take possession of the disputed land, but returned due to strong opposition from army veterans. They said, “We will not allow any private company to set up an EV charging station in the war memorial complex.” District Magistrate Hemraj Bairwa said that the disputed land was acquired two years ago and transferred to the transport department. However, recently the army veterans have started objecting to it.