Kargil martyr's 'name' restored

An executive engineer had ordered to remove the signboard commemorating the soldier's memory

Just a day after MiD DAY reported how a government official removed a board commemorating a Kargil martyr's memory from a power substation in Noida, it was reinstated on Wednesday.


A sign of honour: The board dedicated to late Captain Shashikant
Sharma at the power station in Sector-31, Noida on Wednesday.
PIC/Imtiyaz Khan

In 2004, the power station in Sector-31, a road in front of the Sector-37 golf course and a park in the same area were named after late Captain Shashikant Sharma, to honour his memory as a Kargil martyr. Earlier this year, seeing the dilapidated condition of the power station board, the late Captain's father, retired flight lieutenant JP Sharma, requested the authorities to repaint the board.

The electricity board workers, however, put up a new board instead. As soon as the executive engineer Bhupinder Singh saw the board, he demanded it be removed, without informing Sharma's family or giving a valid reason. He also threatened to file an FIR against all power station employees, if the board was not pulled down. In place of that, he wanted a board mentioning the address of the power house to be put up.

On Tuesday, after the incident was reported in MiD DAY, the first thing that was done was to reinstall the board. "I got a call around 10 in the morning from the official who had ordered to remove the board. He must surely have been reprimanded by higher authorities. He was desperate to put the board back and called up twice to confirm that I got the news," said an elated Sharma.

AP Mishra, chief engineer, Paschimanchal Vidyut Vitaran Nigam Limited (PVVNL), said he could not initiate any action against the employee concerned. "I have not received any complaint till now," he said.

Seventy one-year-old retired flight lieutenant said, "I am happy that the board has been put back, even though I didn't file a written complaint with any official. The official realised his mistake and that is all I wanted. Punishment is not the solution for everything. Many government officials also apologised to me for the unfortunate incident."