Kargil martyr’s family says promises remain unfulfilled 26 years after sacrifice

Marking Kargil Vijay Diwas, the family of martyr Avnish Yadav said several government promises, including a memorial statue and institutions named after him, remain unfulfilled 26 years after his sacrifice, though officials have assured they will examine the pending commitments

Ballia (UP): More than a quarter of a century after Indian Army soldier Avnish Yadav laid down his life in the Kargil War defending the nation, his family said that several promises made by the authorities in recognition of his sacrifice are yet to be fulfilled.

On the occasion of the 27th Kargil Vijay Diwas, the family of Avnish Yadav, natives of Dalel Tola village in Sitabdiara on the Uttar Pradesh-Bihar border, said he was martyred on September 4, 1999, during the Kargil conflict while defending the country.

---

His mother, Somaro Devi, told PTI on Sunday that despite the passage of 26 years, promises made after her son’s sacrifice have not been honoured. Neither has a statue of the martyr been installed in the village nor a government hospital or a primary school have been named after him, as was promised, she said.

His father Shivji Yadav, who retired from the CRPF, said Avnish joined the Army at the age of 18, and made the supreme sacrifice after neutralising 20 Pakistani soldiers. While the Central government had allotted a petrol pump to Avnish’s widow, other assurances made to the family and the village remain unfulfilled, he said.

“Tall promises were made to transform the village. Forget changing its condition, today no one even comes to inquire about our well-being,” Shivji Yadav said. When contacted, Bairia SDM Shashi Mani Nath Mishra said he recently took charge after being transferred from Banda, and that he was looking into the matter.

“Action would be taken to implement the assurances made by the government after verifying the details,” he said. Kargil Vijay Diwas commemorates the culmination of Operation Vijay, the name given to India’s military operation to reclaim the heights of Kargil after Pakistan’s infiltration, which culminated on this day in 1999.