Awaiting fulfilment of promises 26 years after sacrifice: Kargil martyr's family

On the occasion of the 27th Kargil Vijay Diwas, the family of Avnish Yadav, an Indian Army soldier who laid down his life in the Kargil War, says assurances made to the family and his village remain unfulfilled. Avnish was a native of Dalel Tola village in Sitabdiara on the Uttar Pradesh-Bihar border. He was martyred on September 4, 1999, during the Kargil conflict, defending India.

His mother, Somaro Devi, told PTI on Sunday, July 26,  that despite the passage of 26 years, promises made after her son's sacrifice have not been honoured.

Neither has a statue of the martyr been installed in the village nor a government hospital or a primary school have been named after him, as was promised, she said.

His father Shivji Yadav, who retired from the CRPF, said Avnish joined the Army at the age of 18, and made the supreme sacrifice after neutralising 20 Pakistani soldiers.

The widow of Avinash was allotted a petrol pump but other assurances made to the family and the village remain unfulfilled, he said.

“Tall promises were made to transform the village. Forget changing its condition, today no one even comes to inquire about our well-being," Shivji Yadav said.

When contacted, Bairia SDM Shashi Mani Nath Mishra said he recently took charge after being transferred from Banda, and that he was looking into the matter.

“Action would be taken to implement the assurances made by the government after verifying the details,” he said.

Kargil Vijay Diwas commemorates the culmination of Operation Vijay, the name given to India's military operation to reclaim the heights of Kargil after Pakistan’s infiltration, which culminated on this day in 1999.