Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Bhubaneswar, July 26:

The Odisha government today assured a Kargil war widow to fulfil her wish to visit the war memorial in Jammu and Kashmir and pay her tribute to the departed soul.

kargil war memorial

Nibedita — Wife of Kargil martyr Sachidananda Mallick— today met Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik at the secretariat here after the latter invited the former following media reports about her wish.

“The state government would provide all necessary help for her visit to Kargil War Memorial in Jammu and Kashmir,” Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said.

The Chief Minister has directed the state’s Chief Resident Commissioner in Delhi to take necessary steps in this regard. Besides, the General Administration department has been asked to coordinate and implement this.

“Families of many Kargil martyrs have visited the war memorial at Drass to pay homage to their dear ones who sacrificed their lives to save our country. However, I am yet to pay homage to my husband. As it is my dream to salute the place of my husband’s martyrdom, I have failed to pay a visit to the historic place due to lack of finances,” Nibedita Mallick had told media.

Notably, Sachidananda Mallick was enrolled in Army as a sepoy in 12 Mahar regiment in 1989. Later he was promoted to the rank of Lance Naik. Fighting for the country in Kargil conflict, he had laid down his life on 28 June 1999. He was posted in the Drass sector a month before he died.

On the other hand, the memorial pillar of the martyr is yet to see the light of the day as the work on it has not moved beyond the laying of foundation stone even after 15 years of it at Mallick’s native Kandiahata village in Kendrapara district.

The nation today commemorated the success of ‘Operation Vijay’ as ‘Vijay Divas’ and paid rich tributes to the heroes of Kargil war who made supreme sacrifices during the conflict in 1999.