CM Himanta Biswa Sarma pays tribute to martyrs on Kargil Vijay Divas

GUWAHATI: On the occasion of 22nd celebrations of Kargil Vijay Divas, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa visited the War Memorial at Dighalipukhuri here on Monday and paid rich floral tributes in the honour of martyrs who laid down their lives to protect and recapture Indian territories from the clutch of intruders.

It may be noted that Kargil Vijay Divas is a successful culmination of well laid out operations that started on May 8 and ended on July 26, 1999. On this day, the Indian Army announced that all opposition forces and intruders have been driven out from all occupied heights of Kargil and other sectors of Jammu and Kashmir. Altogether 674 Indian forces were martyred including three sons of the soil of Assam namely captain Jintu Gogoi, Uddhav Das and Nanda Chand Sinha who also laid down their lives for the cause of the motherland.

Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister Sarma said, "On the occasion of Kargil Vijay Divas, I paid my heartfelt tributes to the braveheart martyrs who went above and beyond the call of duty to fight against our enemies for securing integrity and sovereignty of our nation. I consider myself fortunate to have attended the celebrations which symbolise the valiant heroics and supreme sacrifice of our armed forces to secure and reclaim the heights Jammu and Kashmir."

The Chief Minister also said that on the occasion of Kargil Vijay Diwas, the Government of Assam has reiterated its commitment to be with the jawans and do everything possible for their welfare. He also said that the welfare of the ex-servicemen constitutes the priority agenda as his government will take more schemes for the welfare of the men in uniform post-retirement also.

Sarma who also interacted with the parents of Captain Jintu Gogoi, T. R. Gogoi and Dulu Gogoi, said that the people of Assam continue to derive inspiration from the supreme sacrifice of late Jintu Gogoi. He also said that his government has planned to set up four more Sainik Schools across the State to help the young generation to imbibe in them the spirit of national service being in schools.

On the occasion, the Chief Minister also inaugurated and dedicated a museum built within the premises of the war memorial.

Senior-most veteran officer Lieutenant General P.K. Bharali (Retd), GoC 51 Sub-Area Major General Vikas Saini, Deputy GoC 21 Mountain Division TPS Counsel, Air Officer Commanding 19 Wing, Borjhar Atul Saggar, Director Sainik Welfare, Assam N.D. Joshi and a host of other dignitaries were present on the occasion, stated a release.

Also Read: Kargil Vijay Diwas: PM Narendra Modi pays homage to Kargil martyrs

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