Monitoring committee set up by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has found that the National War Memorial needs “more work”.
New Delhi: The much-awaited inauguration of the National War Memorial will not take place on 25 January as envisaged due to “pending work” on part of the contractor, sources said Tuesday.
The wreath-laying ceremony, however, will be held at the Amar Jawan Jyoti on 26 January, added sources.
The India Gate hexagon in the national capital was to get its second eternal flame this Republic Day as a mark of respect for the 22,600 Indian soldiers killed in various wars and operations since Independence as the National War Memorial was to be inaugurated a day earlier.
However, top sources told ThePrint that the monitoring committee set up by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has found that “more work” needs to be done.
The high-powered panel, with members from both civil and armed forces, felt that the contractor is yet to complete some of the laid down work.
“The War Memorial will be inaugurated as soon as the pending work gets completed,” said a source on condition of anonymity.
Pending work
While finishing touches are being given to the memorial, sources said the committee has flagged some issues like “stagnation of water”, among others.
“The committee has taken note of the work done so far and where all the lacunae are,” said another source who didn’t wish to be named.
The Ministry of Defence was working at a breakneck pace to finish the project before 25 January, but the Prime Minister’s Office was yet to confirm the date of the inauguration, to be done by Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself.
The IAF had also been roped in for an aerial salute for the inauguration of the National War Memorial on 25 January.
Also read: National War Memorial to honour 22,600 soldiers set for R-Day eve inauguration
Wreath-laying ceremony
The delay in inauguration of the memorial means that there are no doubts over the wreath-laying ceremony on Republic Day.
Earlier, the Indian Army had been asked to provide its inputs on where the wreath-laying ceremony should be held in case the memorial is inaugurated a day before.
The wreath-laying has traditionally been done at Amar Jawan Jyoti, which was constructed by late prime minister Indira Gandhi in honour of the 3,843 Indian soldiers who died in the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War.
War memorial
The armed forces were promised the war memorial decades ago. During the campaign for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Modi had promised to to take up the project to honour nearly 26,000 soldiers who made the supreme sacrifice in wars and military operations since India’s independence.
More than a year after forming the government, the Cabinet headed by Modi sanctioned the construction of the war memorial in October 2015 at a cost of Rs 176 crore.
The National War Memorial has been built at the India Gate C-hexagon with four landscaped concentric circles. Spread over 40 acres, the circles are named Amar Chakra (circle of immortality), Veer Chakra (circle of bravery), Tyag Chakra (circle of sacrifice) and Rakshak Chakra (circle of protection).
Busts of 21 Param Vir Chakra awardees have also been created as ‘Param Yodha Sthal’, showcasing details of the valour of the nation’s highest gallantry award winners.
Besides the war memorial, a national war museum is also planned adjoining the memorial. An initial budget of Rs 350 crore has already been allocated for the museum.