None owns war memorial

The memorial built here to commemorate the martyrs of the War of Liberation in 1971 could not be handed over to any authority even four years after its construction was completed.

The memorial is situated near Balabari Railway Station in Shikarpara village of Chilmari upazila of the district.

Kurigram Public Works Department (PWD) constructed the memorial in 2012 at a cost of around Tk 28 lakh under the Ministry of Liberation War Affairs. 

There was a large camp of the Pakistani army in the area, where the occupation forces, along with Razakars and members of Al-Badr, killed the innocent people and dump their bodies in a ditch near the station. 

Fierce fighting took place between freedom fighters and Pakistani army on October 17 in 1971 where around 20 Pakistani soldiers were killed while three freedom fighters embraced martyrdom.

Commander of Sector-11 Colonel Taher led the freedom fighters in the battle, in which the Pakistan army was defeated.

Manjurul Islam, 63, of Shikarpara, said, “Pakistani army would dump the bodies of innocent people here after killing them in different areas during the Liberation War. Around 50 bodies were dumped inside the memorial area. Besides, the Pakistani army dumped a large number of bodies in different ditches near the station.”

Citing from an office file, Executive Engineer Dewan Maududur Rahman said, “After completing the memorial in 2012, we tried to hand over it to the local administration, but they did not receive it. They sent a letter to the ministry concerned, asking who will receive the memorial and maintain it, but the ministry has not replied yet.”

There are two quarters of the railway department next to the memorial, he said, adding that the PWD requested the railway department to remove the structures but to no effect. He said the memorial could not be handed over till now.

Chilmari Upazila Chairman Shawkat Ali Sarkar Bir Bikrim said, “The memorial was constructed in 2012. We the freedom fighters do not know who gave the funds to build it, or whether the work was completed according to schedule. There is no plaque of inauguration of it. The monument is essential for remembering the fight in Balabari during the War of Liberation.”