Four war heroes found a place of permanence in the hallowed corridors of the EdenGardens as the Cricket Association of Bengal named four blocks of the stadium in honour of the martyred soldiers on Friday.
The name plates of Lieutenant Colonel Dhan Singh Thapa, Colonel N J Nair, Havildar Hangpan Dada and Subedar Joginder Singh were unveiled at a ceremony in Kolkata.
In a stadium that stands on land owned by the Ministry of Defence, the formality was due after the Eden had named four stands after former India captain Sourav Ganguly, former BCCI Presidents B N Dutt and Jagmohan Dalmiya, and ex-India player Pankaj Roy.
Colonel Thapa led an offensive against the Chinese in Ladakh and was also awarded the highest wartime gallantry medal Param Vir Chakra and his name was unveiled by General Officer Commanding Bengal Area, Lieutenant General Giriraj Singh and CAB joint-secretary Avishek Dalmiya.
Lieutenant General Praveen Bakshi, Eastern Army Commander, unveiled the name plate of Colonel N J Nair who was ambushed by 100 armed insurgents while negotiating a series of road bends on the Mokokchung-Mariani Road in Nagaland. He was awarded Ashok Chakra and Kirti Chakra posthumously.
CAB president Sourav Ganguly unveiled the name plate of Havildar Hangpan Dada, who encountered terrorists in Naugam in Jammu and Kashmir and was awarded Ashok Chakra posthumously.
Subedar Joginder Singh, who refused to evacuate despite being injured and held on a defensive position in NEFA and was awarded Param Vir Chakra posthumously, too found a place.
His name was unveiled by chief of staff, headquarters Eastern Army command Lieutenant General Dushyant Singh and CAB joint-secretary Subir Ganguly.