'Partial information on war memorial'

Committee says only four trees need to be felled

The War Memorial proposed to be constructed in the Indira Gandhi Musical Fountain park has been mired in controversy. Green activists and local Resident Welfare Associations have joined hands in opposing the construction on the ground that 32 trees allegedly need to be felled for the memorial. The High Court on Thursday stayed the construction of the war memorial and directed the government to provide information on the loss of green cover in the park.

The Military War Memorial Committee spokesperson Maj Gen M C Nanjundappa said that people have been provided with only partial information on the war memorial.  “We are proposing the war memorial with a Park Theme. The casualty of green cover will only be four trees. Three eucalyptus trees and one Ashoka tree that obstructs the area where the memorial is to be constructed has to be felled,” he said.

In addition he said that the war memorial will help encourage the younger generation to enter the defence services to serve the country. Nanjundappa said, while the idea was mooted by the ex-servicemen, it was the Government’s decision to allot the said space for the memorial.

Track for joggers

The ex-servicemen promise that once the war memorial is created, it will provide a better and improved joggers’ track and other facilities for the local residents. It will give the park a face-lift, Nanjundappa claimed.

According to the architect involved in the construction of the war memorial, Soumitra Ghosh, the entire built-up area for the war memorial constitute only five percent of the total park area inside the Indira Gandhi musical fountain. The memorial requires only 2,630 square meters of the park area, he stated.