NEW DELHI: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will on Thursday lay the foundation stone of a memorial in Chhattisgarh's Raipur for soldiers and security personnel who lost their lives in the line of duty and will house an eternal flame on the lines of the 'Amar Jawan Jyoti'.
The eternal flame will be lit on the premises of 'Chaithi Vahini Chhattisgarh Armed forces' at Mana in Raipur as a mark of tribute to soldiers who have sacrificed their lives for the country, state government officials said.
During his day-long visit to Chhattisgarh, Gandhi will also launch two state government schemes -- 'Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Bhumiheen Krishi Mazdoor Nyay Yojana' and 'Rajiv Yuva Mitan Club' at a programme at Science College, Raipur.
The 'Chhattisgarh Amar Jawan Jyoti' will have a brown marble wall with names of soldiers inscribed on it, a memorial tower and also a VVIP platform, the state government officials said.
The crescent-shaped wall will be about 25 feet high with a length of about 100 feet and a thickness of 3 feet.
In front of the crescent-shaped wall, a memorial tower will be built using sandstone, brown-white marble and granite with a memento on top.
A rifle and helmet in the form of insignia will be placed at the base in front of the memorial tower.
"Chhattisgarh Amar Jawan Jyoti will be lit in front of this symbol which will remain ignited 24 hours through fuel supply through underground pipelines," the officials said, adding that the two-storey building will be constructed just in front of the memorial tower.
The 'Amar Jawan Jyoti' at India Gate in Delhi was recently merged with the National War Memorial (NWM), drawing criticism from some political leaders, including Gandhi and Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel.
Baghel had said the removal of the Amar Jawan Jyoti pained him. Gandhi will also be laying the foundation stone of 'Sewa Gram'. He will transfer the first instalment of the 'Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Bhumiheen Krishi Mazdoor Nyay Yojana' in the bank accounts of 3,55,000 landless agricultural labourers registered under the scheme.
An amount of Rs 6,000 will be directly transferred to the beneficiaries' accounts in three instalments in a year. The state government has made a provision of Rs 200 crore in the supplementary budget for this scheme, the officials said.
Under the 'Rajiv Yuva Mitan Club' scheme, 13,269 Rajiv Yuva Mitan Clubs will be constituted in each of the gram panchayats and urban bodies of the state in a phased manner, they said. Youngsters will get an opportunity to establish their identity and develop their leadership skills under this scheme, they said.