'Meri Maati Mera Desh' campaign: Jammu civic body sets up memorial to pay tributes to security personnel

Jammu: As part of the 'Meri Maati Mera Desh' campaign, the Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) has set up a memorial here to pay tributes to four security personnel who lost their lives while fighting terrorists.

The memorial has been set up in a public park in the Gandhinagar area.

Jammu and Kashmir Police's Deputy Superintendents Kuldeep Sharma and Praveen Sharma are among the security personnel to whom the memorial has been dedicated.

"Those who have laid down their lives for this nation are being remembered. We are paying tributes to them through this memorial. A solemn pledge is being taken to work in the direction of the country's integrity and security," said Mayor Rajinder Sharma on Friday.

Kirti Kumari, Station House Officer (SHO) of Gandhinagar women's police station, welcomed the JMC's initiative.

"People forget martyrs. But this initiative is very appreciable as it will lead to a mass movement which will ensure that people remember them," she said.

Families of slain security personnel thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for launching the 'Meri Maati Mera Desh' campaign across the country.

Anuradha Sharma, a martyr's kin, said, "We did not remember the martyrs so much in the past. But through this movement, we are honouring all those who laid down their lives for this nation."

Prime Minister Modi had recently announced the 'Meri Maati Mera Desh' campaign during his 'Mann Ki Baat' broadcast.

As part of this campaign, various programmes are being held at village, block, state and national levels from August 9 to 30 to "pay tributes to the veers who laid down their lives for the country", according to the Union Ministry of Culture.