Plans for a war memorial for soldiers from the State who fought in wars and military operations in the post-Independence decades have taken a big step towards turning into reality.
The State government has cleared the design/layout created by the design wing of the Public Works Department for the memorial planned at Akkulam.
Paper work for the memorial was set in motion in the 1990s after the Central government asked States to construct the memorials. But the project was hit by long delays on account of land-related problems.
To come up in 1.5 acres, the new memorial will feature a victory pillar in a landscaped environment. War-related artefacts, such as battle tanks and aircraft, decommissioned by the Army, Navy, and Air Force, will be displayed near it. Other attractions include a hall of fame with names of war heroes and gallantry medal winners from the State, an audio-visual unit, gazebos, a pathway, and space for staging guard of honour.
Construction will begin once the government announces funds for the project, a senior official with the Sainik Welfare department, Government of Kerala, told The Hindu.
The PWD design for the new memorial had been cleared by the war memorial committee, headed by the Additional Chief Secretary (Revenue), in August this year. The Sainik Welfare department then forwarded it to the government for approval. The government gave the go-ahead in September.
Thiruvananthapuram city has an old war memorial at present, a tall pillar standing opposite the Government College of Fine Arts at Palayam. It commemorates soldiers who took part in First World War.
Back in the 1990s, the idea was to have the memorial at Shangumughom, near the coast. Although an order was issued in June 1999 transferring 1.15 acres there to the Sainik Welfare department, the plan met with stiff resistance on the grounds that the site was being used locally as a playground. Later on, Akkulam was chosen by the war memorial committee appointed by the government in 2018.
