Mussoorie, The 25th Death Anniversary of six martyrs who lost their life during the struggle for a separate hill-state of Uttarakhand on 2nd September, 1994 were remembered in the hill-station of, where the unfortunate shoot-out took place.
Stream of events were lined-up for the day commemorating its dearly departed. Prayers as well as garlanding of statues of martyrs by their family members and other dignitaries at took place at the Shaheed Sthal early today morning.
It was a tearful reunion for the families who lost their beloved on this fateful day 25 years ago. Family members of Martyrs Hansa Dhanai, Belmati Chauhan, Balbir Negi, Rai Singh Bangari, Madan Singh Mamgain and Dhanpat Singh were in full attendance at the venue which saw people from all walks of life paying tribute. For them it was, “as if life had gone by at the blink of an eye” spoke Narottam Singh son of late Shri Dhanpat Singh.
Shopkeepers in Mussoorie kept their shutters down until 11:00 as a mark of respect for those who lost their lives. Dignitaries BJP MP Ajay Bhatt, MLA Mussoorie Ganesh Joshi, Chairman of the town Anuj Gupta, former MLA Jot Singh Gunsola, Former Chairman Manmohan Singh Malla, OP Uniyal and UKD Minister Pritam Panwar were present at the Shaeed Sthal to pay homage to the martyrs.
Speaking at the occasion Uttarakhand Kranti Dal Minister Pritam Panwar stated, “the need of the hour is to tap migration from the hills and that will be the biggest tribute paid to our martyrs.” BJP MP Ajay Bhatt paid his heartfelt condolences to the family of martyrs, adding, “the sacrifice of the people of the town for the creation of Uttarakhand which turns 19 this November, is something the State will never forget. Everyone has been an inseparable part of this journey.”
For old timers like Professor Ganesh Saili, ‘‘if it hadn’t been for the sacrifice of these 6 people, Uttarakhand would still be a distant dream.’
