Eden Gardens salutes martyrs by dedicating names of stands

On the 28th of April, four stands of the Eden Garden stadium were named after Indian army martyrs. This was a tribute?from the Cricket Association of Bengal towards them. The stands were unveiled by Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) president Sourav Ganguly, Lieutenant-General Praveen Bakshi, PVSM, AVSM, VSM and ADC General Officer Commanding-in-chief Eastern Army Command. The ceremony took place right before the KKR vs DD match on the 28th.

The Eden had named stands after cricketers on January 22nd. Sourav Ganguly, BN Dutt, Jagmohan Dalmiya and Pankaj Roy received the honor of getting a stand named after them. On that day it was announced that stands would also be named after soldiers as the stadium is in the Maidan area which is under the Indian Army. This was confirmed when sports minister Vijay Goel retweeted a special forces veteran.

The stands were dedicated to 1962 Indo-China war martyrs Subedar Joginder Singh and Lieutenant Colonel Dhan Singh Thapa. Two other stands were named after Late Colonel NJ Nair and Late Havaldar Hangpan Dada.

Dada originated from Arunachal Pradesh. He gave his life while combating suspected intruders in Naugram, north Kashmir last year. He was awarded the Ashok Chakra. Nair was with the 16 Maratha Light Infantry and died in Nagaland in 1993. He was awarded Ashok Chakra and Kirti Chakra posthumously.

Singh, who refused to evacuate despite being injured and held on a defensive position in the north-east, too was awarded Param Vir Chakra. Thapa, who was involved in the Indo-China war, was with the Gorkha Rifles. He too acquired the Param Vir Chakra.

This was regarded as a noble initiative and gained praises from different cricket associations throughout India.