Kargil widow plans Dras trip to pay homage to husband

KENDRAPADA: The widow of a soldier, who laid down his life in the 1999 Kargil War, has set a goal for herself - to travel to

Dras

in Jammu & Kashmir to visit the

war memorial

there on which her husband's name is inscribed.

Nibedita Mallick, 47, widow of Sachitananda Mallick of Kandiahat village in Kendrapada district, was elated when chief minister Naveen Patnaik promised to help her travel to Dras, on July 26 - 'Kargil Day' - in 2016. Her husband, who was killed in Dras on June 28, 1999, as a soldier of the 12th Mahar Regiment. With the government doing little to help her on her way, Nibedita has decided to go to Dras on her own.

"The chief minister had promised to help me fulfil my wish to visit the war memorial in Kargil to pay homage to my husband. He said so at the secretariat, where he had invited me for a Kargil Day programme in 2016," said Nibedita. "Since then, I have not received any communication from the government regarding this," she said. "I have already booked air tickets to and from from Bhubaneswar to Srinagar," she further said.

The Kargil war memorial was built by the Army to honour the soldiers who laid down their lives in the war of 1999. The roll of honour at the memorial bears 559 names, including of Sachitananda. The memorial, located on the Srinagar-Kargil highway, is also a tourist attraction. "It is my wish to be in the place where my husband was martyred," a tearful Nibedita said on Monday.

When contacted, Pradipta Mohapatra, additional secretary (CMO), said, "Last year, we had written to the home department to arrange for Nibedita's visit to Kargil. The officials of the home department had written to the DGP to help her travel to Kargil. We will ask the home department to expedite the work."