Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Saturdayannounced his government would soon construct a memorial as a befitting tributeto the countless unsung heroes who laid down their lives especially in theCellular Jail of Andaman during the independence movement.
The upcoming memorial would be exclusively dedicated tothe sons of soil, who had undergone rigorous punishment which was infamouslyknown as 'Kalapani'.
In his address after dedicating the Shaheed Udham SinghMemorial to the people at a state-level function in Sunam Udham Singh Wala inSangrur district, the Chief Minister said a lot of research has already beenundertaken by the eminent historians and scholars to identify such patriots andfreedom fighters, especially hailing from Punjab, who had made enormouscontribution in the country's freedom struggle.
Recalling his visit to Cellular Jail in Andaman Islandpost-tsunami, the Chief Minister said that he was astonished at the fact thathe didn't know even a single name etched on the walls there, adding thesemartyrs had died unknown in the 'Kalapani' leaving behind no memories.
"It is now our duty to give due respect andrecognition to their sacrifices made for motherland," said the ChiefMinister.
Notably, the state-of-the-art memorial, including a lifesized copper statue of Shaheed Udham Singh along with four stones placed eachon both sides with his brief life history and heroic deeds engraved in Punjabiand English, and a museum displaying relics, rare pictures, documents besidesan urn containing ashes of the great martyr has been constructed with the totalcost of Rs 6.40 crore.