Pampore martyr's parents launch hunger strike for his memorial

The parents of Indian Army gunner Saurabh Pharate, who was killed in Pampore attack in December 2016, today launched an indefinite hunger strike outside the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) seeking a memorial of their martyred son at Hadapsar in Pune.

Three soldiers including Saurabh, a-33-year-old gunner with Indian Army, were killed in a militant attack on an army convoy at Pampore on Srinagar-Jammu National Highway on December 17, 2016.

"The day he was cremated, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) had announced that his memorial will be built in Hadapsar area since he was the first martyr from this suburb. However, after that announcement, no one from the civic authority came to us and talked to us about the memorial," Mangal Pharate, Saurabh's 55-year-old mother, said.
 

"We then raised the issue and sought the work progress details and even met Pune Mayor as well as Chief Minister Devendra Fadanvis. However, we got just a promise from everyone," she added.

According to her, the Pune civic body later granted sanction to the project and funds were allocated for the same.

"But the location for the memorial was never finalised and the project got stalled due to the local politics as no one wanted to give away their land for the memorial," she alleged.

"We wanted that the memorial be built in PMC-run Ramchandra Bankar school in Bhekrainagar (native place of the Pharates) as the memorial in the school could inspire the students. However, local politicians are playing a spoilsport and thwarting the efforts by saying that the school area is not good and the sanctity of the memorial will not be maintained," she said.

"Last several months, we have been running from pillar to post and meeting the civic officials. But except promises, we have got nothing and today as a final recourse, we decided to launch an indefinite hunger strike in front of the PMC building," she said.

She lamented that it is unfortunate that parents of a martyred soldier are made to run pillar to post and forced to sit on the road to get their pleas heard.

Saurabh's father Nandkishor Pharate asked, "What message are we sending to the serving soldiers, who will be demoralised after seeing the plight of the parents of a martyred soldier."

When contacted, the PMC officials said that the process to build the memorial is on.

"Last year, there was no monetary provision for the memorial, but in this year's budget, the PMC has allocated Rs 1 crore (for it)," a PMC official said.