A few days before the 100th death anniversary of Victoria Cross awardee rifleman Gabar Singh Negi, men of the second Garhwal Rifles visited his native village Manjyud in Tehri district and lit a ceremonial lamp here. The flame will be taken to Bathinda in Punjab on Monday to mark the start of a three-day programme there.
The men of second Garhwal Rifles led by Major Bhaskar Bhatt reached Negi’s village here on Sunday. The army men and villagers paid tributes at the memorial and lit a ceremonial lamp to take with them from the shrine. On the occasion, the villagers expressed dissatisfaction at the failure of the authorities to facilitate preservation of Negi’s ancestral home in the village and construction of road to the village. The residents of Manjyud also opined that the fair held in Negi’s memory on April 21 should be declared a tourism fair and as in the past should also be marked by recruitment fair. Major Bhatt informed that a centenary programme is being organised to mark 100 years of Gabar Singh’s martyrdom in World War I. The ceremonial flame lit at his native village will reach Bathinda in Punjab on Monday after which the programme would start.
It is pertinent to mention here that rifleman Gabar Singh Negi of Garhwal Rifles was awarded the Victoria Cross for most conspicuous bravery on March 10, 1915, at Neuve Chapelle. During the attack on the German position he was one of a bayonet party with bombs who entered their main trench, and was the first man to go round each traverse, driving back the enemy until they were eventually forced to surrender. He was killed during this engagement.