Punjab: 21 years after Kargil, martyr's name on village school
MANSA: More than 21 years after a braveheart from Punjab ’s Mansa district died in the Kargil conflict, the government senior secondary school in his native village of Kusla has been named after Naik Nirmal Singh. The district authorities also provided financial assistance of Rs 51,000 to his 80-year-old mother Jagir Kaur who was living a life of penury and forced to take up work under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS).
A TOI report had highlighted her condition.
The villagers had earlier proposed that ‘Nirmal’ be incorporated in the school’s name but nobody had paid any heed to them.
The director education (senior secondary) has now approved naming of the school after the martyr and a banner with the changed name has been put up at the school gate. Schools of four martyrs of Galwan Valley -- who died during close combat with Chinese troops — were recently named after them.
Mansa zila parishad chairman Bikram Singh Moafar reached the school on Wednesday with the martyr’s mother and said "the state government is for naming schools after martyrs and providing every facility to the families of martyrs". He said the vacant posts in the school will be filled soon, and a community centre, park, library and playground will also be constructed.
The villagers had earlier proposed that ‘Nirmal’ be incorporated in the school’s name but nobody had paid any heed to them.
The director education (senior secondary) has now approved naming of the school after the martyr and a banner with the changed name has been put up at the school gate. Schools of four martyrs of Galwan Valley -- who died during close combat with Chinese troops — were recently named after them.
Mansa zila parishad chairman Bikram Singh Moafar reached the school on Wednesday with the martyr’s mother and said "the state government is for naming schools after martyrs and providing every facility to the families of martyrs". He said the vacant posts in the school will be filled soon, and a community centre, park, library and playground will also be constructed.
On coming to know of the plight of the martyr’s mother, NGO Nirvair Khalsa Aid of Yamunanagar started had begun constructing a room for her while philanthropist SP Singh Oberoi had promised her Rs 5,000 per month pension and arranged a helper for her at Rs 2,500 per month.
After renaming of the village school , Jagir Kaur said, "I feel happy that the school has been named after my son; he will be well recognized in the area for long."
Village sarpanch Manjit Singh lauded the step, saying "better late than never".
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