Footfall of tourists is low as awareness about the memorial has not been created. Against the projected average daily footfall of around 5,000, we only get 200 on weekdays and 500-600 on weekends. COL HP SINGH (RETD), project director
AMRITSAR: More than two years after it was inaugurated in October 2016, footfall at the state-of-the-art Punjab State War Heroes Memorial and Museum is bitterly short of expectation. Officials from the Sainik Welfare department, which maintains the memorial, say that average footfall has been around 300 visitors per day since inauguration against the projected 5,000. Amritsar itself sees tourist football of 50,000 each on weekdays and around a lakh on the weekends. The then chief minister Parkash Singh Badal had inaugurated the memorial, with work pending on two of its galleries.
“Footfall of tourists is low as awareness about the memorial has not been created. Against the projected average daily footfall of around 5,000; we only get 200 on weekdays and 500-600 on weekends. Since inauguration, around 2 lakh people have visited the memorial,” said Col HP Singh (retd), project director, of the memorial, spread in 7 acre opposite the India Gate on the GT road.
The ₹150 crore project covers the heroism and sacrifices in Punjab from the days of Alexander the Great to the Kargil War. It also covers the origins of Miri Piri, which evolved at the time of the sixth Guru, Guru Hargobind Singh.
“We are short of funds. Once we get these, we will publicise the memorial properly to increase its footfall,” the Col added. There are nine galleries in the memorial. Visitors have access to only six. Construction work on its fourth gallery, which will depict the battle of Saragarhi, Jallianwala massacre, and battles in the World War-I and II remains suspended.
The eighth gallery, which displays the history of Kargil War in the form of paintings, art work, and two and threedimensional (2D and 3D) projections, is waiting for inauguration. The ninth gallery is meant to inspire the youth to join the armed forces; its status is unclear. “We need ₹1 crore to complete the fourth gallery. However, the Kargil gallery will soon be thrown open. Work will start, once we get funds,” the Col added.
The others six galleries are dedicated to information about Antiquity (ancient times), the era of Guru Hargobind Singh till the rise of the Sikh Empire, the Sikh Empire and the Anglo-Sikh Wars, Jammu & Kashmir Operations (1947-48), Indo-China War (1962), Indo-Pak War (1965-1971) etc.
Another 45-metre high mild steel sword stands in the middle of the memorial. It represents the strength and courage displayed by at least 3,500 Punjab soldiers, while defending the nation. The memorial also has an original Mig -23 and a model of the decommissioned INS Vikrant.
The memorial authorities have also written to the government to sanction ₹60 lakh to inscribe names of 4,000 martyred soldiers, including 54 of Punjab (who have been missing since the first Indo-Pak War (1947-48) on the boundary walls of fountains inside the memorial with stainless steel plates.