Punjab CM pays tribute to Bhagat Singh, says heritage complex to be ready soon

Khatkar Kalan (Punjab), Sep 28 (PTI) Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann on Sunday paid floral tribute to Shaheed Bhagat Singh on his birth anniversary and said the heritage complex at the freedom fighter's native village will be dedicated to the state in the coming months.

Mann also dedicated a 100-feet-high tricolour at the Shaheed Bhagat Singh museum to the people on the occasion.

He said the heritage complex, being built at a cost of Rs 51.70 crore, is a humble tribute to the martyr and will inspire future generations to serve the country selflessly.

The chief minister said the complex will feature a grand thematic gate, a 350-metre-long heritage street linking the museum with Bhagat Singh's ancestral house, sculptures and 2D/3D wall art narrating the freedom struggle, and a 700-seat auditorium.

He emphasized that the complex will not merely be a structural monument, but an unforgettable experience as visitors will witness glimpses of Shaheed Bhagat Singh's supreme sacrifice for the motherland, his intellectual depth, and his courageous spirit.

A model of the martyr's ancestral home in Lyallpur (now in Pakistan) is also being constructed, along with a recreation of his village, he added. Mann said a digital recreation of Bhagat Singh's courtroom trial is being developed, while his ancestral home at Khatkar Kalan is being restored. The existing library is being modernised and digitised, he added.

Other facilities at the complex will include a tourist facilitation centre, cottages, a musical fountain, horticultural landscaping and parking space, he said.

Mann said perpetuating the legacy of martyrs is the bounden duty of the state government, adding that Bhagat Singh was not only an individual but an institution and people must follow his footsteps for the progress of the country.

He said every endeavour of the state government is aimed at carving a progressive and prosperous Punjab as dreamt by Bhagat Singh.

Recalling that his Cabinet took oath of office at Khatkar Kalan in 2022, Mann said his government has also installed a 30-foot-tall statue of the freedom fighter at the Shaheed Bhagat Singh International Airport and portraits of Bhagat Singh and Dr B R Ambedkar have been placed in government offices.

The chief minister said the motive was to ensure that people of state can draw inspiration from these great personalities to serve the state. PTI CHS OZ OZ