The World War Memorial at Gandhi Market here finally received its due recognition after a few decades as the Collector and Mayor paid tributes at the venue on Thursday.
They paid tributes separately to the 41 war heroes who sacrificed their lives during World War-I, prior to the hoisting of national flag.
As many as 302 soldiers from Tiruchy participated in the World War-I that took place in 1914-18. Out of these, a total of 41 lost their lives. The then government erected a memorial at Gandhi market with a clock tower. Though the ‘clock tower’ is well known among the people from the city, the memorial was least known as the shops constructed in front of the tower hindered its visibility.
Though, socialist activists and the public raised their voice to remove the shops obscuring the monuments, the civic body for several decades paid no attention to the issue. However, recently, the civic body literally woke up and passed a resolution to remove structures in the entrance that were blocking the visibility of the public. Subsequently, the shops were removed and the memorial received a facelift.
Collector Jayashree Muralidharan drove to the memorial spot and paid floral tributes. Similarly, Mayor A Jaya too paid tributes.
This is the first time in recent history that war heroes were honoured in their home town. Several people gathered at the spot to witness the event.
“To my knowledge, it is the first time, this monument is being recognised and honoured in 40 years,” said assistant director (Ex-servicemen welfare) C Selvamoorthy after the function.