Martyr's village to get facelift

Lance Naik Hemraj Singh, who was killed by Pakistani soldiers along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir last week, may have had to send his children to a far away school in Mathura district as there was no school in his village.

However, his supreme sacrifice has changed all that.

Hemraj's village Sher Nagar, which till the other day was nondescript, remote and backward and without roads, is all set for a transformation.

After initial neglect by political leaders and the government, facilities will pour in.

The Uttar Pradesh government has announced several development projects for the martyr’s village.

The road leading to Sher Nagar, which is filled with mud and dust, will now be re-laid, chief minister Akhilesh Yadav declared.

The village will get a shaheed park after Hemraj, a school and a new transformer, officials said.

Jobs promised

The state government has also promised jobs to his two brothers.
“Now we hope that the village will develop. Hemraj always wanted to see his village developed,” said Dharm Singh, the village pradhan.

Although situated merely 150 kilometres from Delhi, the village symbolises utter neglect.

There is neither approach road worth the name nor any other basic facilities.

The martyr’s family which had been on an indefinite hunger strike in protest against government apathy toward the slain jawan, had called off its fast on Monday after CM Akhilesh Yadav visited them.

While the state government gave a compensation of Rs 25 lakh, the Centre chipped in with Rs 41 lakh.

The government has also promised license for a cooking gas agency or a petrol pump to the family.

Hemraj’s mother Meena Devi and widow Dharmavati had been demanding that they be handed over his severed head.