Teen Murti Chowk to be formally renamed after Israeli city

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu will today attend a solemn ceremony at the Teen Murti Memorial here to mark the formal renaming of Teen Murti Chowk as Teen Murti Haifa Chowk.

The two leaders will also lay a wreath and sign the visitor's book at the memorial, official sources said.

Netanyahu is arriving in India on a six-day visit today.

The three bronze statues at Teen Murti represent the Hyderabad, Jodhpur and Mysore Lancers who were part of the 15 Imperial Service Cavalry Brigade.

The brigade carried out the victorious assault on the fortified city of Haifa on September 23, 1918, during World War I.

There are various accounts of this battle - all narrate the valour with which the lancers undertook the assault on the garrisoned city protected by a joint force of Ottomans, Germany and Austria-Hungary. The liberation of Haifa cleared a supply route for the Allies to the city through the sea.

Forty-four Indian soldiers made the ultimate sacrifice during the liberation of the city in World War I.

Till date, the 61 Cavalry celebrates September 23 as its Raising Day or "Haifa Day."