CM had announced to bear study expenses of brother, Rs 10 lakh

Sushma, mother of Capt Ashwani Kumar, with the martyr’s photograph at her house in Patiala. Tribune photo: Rajesh Sachar

Aman Sood

Tribune News Service,Patiala, February 14

Sacrifices made by bravehearts, promises to martyrs’ families by politicians, candlelight marches and debates on TV channels are forgotten as soon as the dust settles.The family of Regimental Medical Officer Capt Ashwani Kumar, who died in an avalanche at the Siachen glacier in November 2015, is struggling to make both ends meet, leave aside keep his name alive for future generation.Sixtysix-year old Anokhe Lal still recalls the last phone call he received from his son Capt Ashwani Kumar, in which they had discussed a few family matters, including studies of his younger brother.However, a week later, an avalanche struck a patrol party at the Siachen glacier on November 13. While 15 soldiers were rescued, Capt Ashwani could not be saved.Various politicians announced compensation and jobs for the kin, but there was no follow-up on promises.The promises made by the state government, including financial help of Rs 10 lakh and all study expenses of the martyr’s younger brother, are yet to be fulfilled.“Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal came to our house on November 21, gave a cheque for Rs 5 lakh and left promising more. Almost over two months since, we are not sure if we will get anything else,” said Lal, worried over his younger son’s future.To add insult to injury, the Patiala Municipal Corporation has ignored the claim of Capt Ashwani Kumar and instead named a road after a councillor who died in an accident on a holiday in HP.A road in Tripuri is now named after Paramjit Singh Dixie, the councillor who died in the road accident in 2014, while a park in Model Town is named after BJP rural president Ravinder Singh Ginny’s deceased father.“I am not bothered if everyone forgets my son’s sacrifices. At least we won’t. We would have been happy if a road would have been named after my son. My youngest son now wants to leave studies and start earning as there is no earning member in the family. Leave aside his education, the government should provide him a suitable job,” says his mother Sushma.All efforts to contact Patiala Deputy Commissioner Rambir Singh turned futile as he refused to take calls or reply to a detailed SMS sent on his mobile.Capt Ashwani Kumar (26), born on August 27, 1989, represented 3 Ladakh Scouts. He was a bachelor and hailed from Patiala. Kumar did MBBS from Government Medical College, Patiala, and was commissioned into the Army on January 6, 2015.