BHOPAL: For the family of Border Security Force (BSF) jawan Mohanlal Suner, who was martyred on December 31, 1992, in Tripura, Raksha Bandhan and Independence Day was extra special on Thursday.
After living 27 long years in a dilapidated hut in Peer Pipliya village in Betma area of Indore district, the family moved into their new house that replaced the old hut — all due to the collective efforts of the village’s youngsters.
A group of 20-odd youths led by Mohan Narayan took a vow on Raksha Bandhan day in 2018 to collect funds to replace the old hut and install a statue of the martyr in the village.
“The martyr’s widow Raju Bai tied Raksha sutras on our wrists on Raksha Bandhan in 2018. We pledged before her to end their woes by replacing the old hut with a new house. Subsequently, an initiative One Cheque One Sign for Shaheed Mission was started with the target of collecting `11 lakh for the two objectives,” said Bhupendra Pancholi, one of the group’s members.
The group generated Rs 11 lakh in just three months and the new house was built over a period of eight months.
“Raju Bai and her two sons shifted to another house till the new house was built. Out of the Rs 11 lakh collected, Rs 10 lakh was used to build the house while the remaining sum will be used for installing a statue of the martyr Mohanlal Suner in the village,” said Pancholi.
On Thursday, the young group welcomed their ‘sister’ Raju Bai and younger son Vinod (elder son is also now with the BSF) into the newly built house.
“We’re now working to get the government school in our village named after martyr Mohanlal Suner. After that, we’ll start working in a similar manner to install a statue of another martyr Sandeep Bariya by next Raksha Bandhan in Badnagar area of Ujjain district,” said Pancholi.
Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath praised the young group’s initiative over Twitter.
“I salute the inspirational work done on mission mode by youths of Peer Pipliya for the family of the martyr. It’s befitting tribute to the martyr on Independence Day-Raksha Bandhan,” he wrote.