National Cadet Corps (NCC) and Gallantry Awards Portal have jointly initiated a unique scheme to celebrate 75th year of independence and pay tribute to the gallants of the Armed Forces and others who made the supreme sacrifice in the service of the nation. Under the initiative, statues of the brave hearts will be adopted for cleaning and upkeep. Cadets will spread awareness among the people about the contribution and leadership traits of the War Heroes and other national personalities through interactive lectures, poetry recital, nukkad natak/dance etc.
So far NCC has adopted 46 statues of Gallantry award winners including 10 Param Vir Chakra, 6 Ashoka Chakra, 11 Mahavir Chakra, four Kirti Chakra, 12 Vir Chakra and three Shaurya Chakra.
Gallantry Awards Portal has been doing live webcast these events every week. People watch these events on the portal https://www.gallantryawards.gov.in/ and pay their tributes virtually. The first such event was webcast live on July 7, 2021 on trial basis. The next event is scheduled to take place on Thursday at 11 AM at Statue Junction, Tirupunithara at Kochi, Kerala, where the statue of Lt Col Ramakrishnan Vishwanathan, Vir Chakra, will be paid tribute by NCC.
Background of Vir Chakra LT Col Ramakrishnan Vishwanathan
Lt Col Ramakrishnan Vishwanathan was the Second-in-Command of 18 GRENADIERS who had conducted operations on and around Tololing mountain in Drass sector, Kargil during Operation Vijay. He was posthumously awarded the Vir Chakra for his actions during the Kargil war.
As part of the initiative, the local unit of NCC organises cleaning and information dissemination events on a weekly basis in the precincts of an adopted statue. NCC cadets of one or more educational institutions are tasked with the responsibility to carry out the activities. The event helps create awareness among the people about the deeds of the brave hearts of the country. It also aims to motivate people to participate in the Swachh Bharat campaign propagated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to realise the ideals of Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi.
The initiative spreads the message of importance of ‘Swachhta’ in day-to-day lives and inspiring the local population to take care of local monuments and heritage. It further contributes towards harnessing the energy of the youth towards social causes and instilling a sense of patriotism in them. This initiative of NCC has got encouragement from all quarters.
Information of future events is available on Gallantry Awards portal. Also, people can send suggestions on this portal about statues requiring adoption by a local NCC unit.
