Work on Rs 51 crore Shaheed Smarak to begin on March 15

SURAT: The standing committee of Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) on Thursday sanctioned Rs23.93 crore for Shaheed Smarak, which is coming up in Vesu in the city. The Shaheed Smarak is a Rs51 crore project envisaged on 83, 560 square metres of land. A 38-metre high Shaheed Stambha will come up on 30, 667 square metres of land as a part of first phase that begins on March 15.The project to be completed in two phases within 18 months will have a 16-metre high Shaurya Dwar, a 250 seat auditorium and complete history on the Indian Armed Forces.
Standing committee chairman Anil Goplani said, “We had made provision for the project in the 2019-20 budget. We wanted to build a place in the city where people could pay their tributes to our martyrs. It will be a place replete with Indian Armed Forces’ history and also have recreational facilities.”
A visitor to Shaheed Smarak will be able to get information on recruitment and organizational structure of Army, Navy and Air Force, weapons, guns, tanks, combat vehicles, bombs, fighter aircraft, ships, frigates, radars and helicopters among other things.
“We are planning to build an iconic structure to express our gratitude to our armed forces. A Unity Square, Shauyra Dwar, three display galleries on Indian Armed Forces, freedom fighters and civilians, axis of time, memory square, infinity platform, open ground, an entrance plaza and an exhibition area would be built under phase one of the project,” said CY Bhatt, deputy commissioner, SMC.
Chief minister Vijay Rupani laid the foundation stone for the project on Thursday. He also laid the foundation stones for other projects during his visit to the city.