PM Modi Inaugurates National War Memorial by Lighting Eternal Flame Below Obelisk

PM Modi will dedicate the memorial, spread over 40 acres in the India Gate complex, by lighting the flame positioned at the bottom of the stone-made obelisk.

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the National War Memorial near India Gate today. The memorial has been built honour soldiers who have laid down their lives for the country since Independence.

PM Modi dedicated the memorial, spread over 40 acres in the India Gate complex, by lighting the flame positioned at the bottom of the stone-made obelisk.

The names of 25,942 battle casualties have been inscribed across 16 walls that consist of granite pieces bearing the name, rank and regiment of the fallen heroes, the officials said, adding that it was built between February last year and this February in “record time”.

Six bronze murals, made by noted sculptor Ram Sutar, depicting famous battles fought by the Army, Air Force and Navy have been put up in a gallery in the Veerta Chakra zone.

Likewise, 16 walls in concentric fashion have been constructed in the ‘Tyag Chakra’ area for paying homage to the over 25,000 battle casualties.

India’s soldiers are India’s pride. The National War Memorial is a fitting tribute to India’s bravehearts. It took 70 years and PM Modi to make the National War Memorial a reality! Here are the glimpses of the historic monument. pic.twitter.com/BXUzT5Mvup— BJP (@BJP4India) February 25, 2019

Later in the day, the prime minister is also expected to lay the foundation stone for the Jewar Airport in Gautam Buddha Nagar. The proposed airport, second in the National Capital Region (NCR) after Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport, would cost around Rs 15,000 crore to Rs 20,000 crore and is expected to be operational by 2022-23.

Also, PM Modi is scheduled to inaugurate the ASEAN Chambers of Commerce & Industry Business Meet in Bengaluru on Monday.

The three-day conference, which is being organised by the FKCCI in collaboration with the State Government will see participation of business leaders, industrialists, exporters and importers of 30 countries.

FKCCI president Sudhakar S Shetty said at a curtain raiser that they are expecting the participation of about 2,000 delegates, 125 speakers, 1,500 organisations and over 120 exhibitors.

Apart from PM Modi, Congress president Rahul Gandhi, Union ministers Nitin Gadkari, Suresh Prabhu, Nirmala Sitaraman, Sadananda Gowda and Anantkumar Hegde, besides Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy, former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda and Large Industries Minister KJ George are expected to attend the event.

Vice President Venkaiah Naidu will address the valedictory session.