Punjab Cabinet Minister Sadhu Singh Dharmsot on Friday paid a surprise visit to Shaheed Udham Singh memorial and expressed concern over the delipitated condition of the site.
He lashed out at the erstwhile SAD-BJP Government for completely ignoring the great martyr’s memorial.
Dharamsot said that the District Congress Committee president Harinder Bhambhri brought to his notice about the memorial at Fatehgarh Sahib and demanded to renovate it as lakhs of devotees visit Fatehgarh Sahib to pay obeisance to Sahibzadas and at Roza Sharif, so that they may pay homage to great martyr.
The Minister announced Rs 5 lakh for the renovation and beautification of the memorial and urged the Deputy Commissioner Kanwalpreet Brar to start the renovation works immediately. He said that it will be constructed in modern way, so that people may be attracted and know about Shaheed Udham Singh.
It is worth mentioning that in July 1974, the then Chief Minister Giani Zail Singh had brought the ashes of Shaheed Udham Singh to Punjab and as per his wishes, these ashes were buried at Roza Sharif in Fatehgarh Sahib. Notably, Shaheed Udham Singh had named himself as Ram Mohammad Singh Azad and desired that his last rites may be done as per all the religions.
Since then, a memorial was constructed by the administration and the land was given by Roza Sharif management. Responding to a query, Dharamsot said that the fund for the scholarships and Shagun scheme, where verification has been completed, has been released. “The process of verification is on and a scam worth Rs 700 crore in scholarships has come to light and approximately Rs 115 crore have been recovered,” he added.