KTR inaugurates 9 feet statue of Colonel Santosh Babu at Suryapet

A statue of Colonel Santosh Babu at Suryapet on the occasion of his first death anniversary. Hundreds of people gathered at the inauguration ceremony where KTR and the family members of the Colonel paid a floral tribute to the brave soldier.

Hyderabad: Telangana Municipal Administration and Urban Development Minister, KT Rama Rao, on Tuesday, inaugurated the statue of Colonel Santosh Babu at Suryapet on the occasion of his first death anniversary. Colonel Babu, the commanding officer of the 16 Bihar regiment, was among 20 Indian soldiers who laid down their lives in the fierce hand-to-hand combat on June 15 last year along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh.

The nine-foot-bronze statue was established in his hometown. Hundreds of people gathered at the inauguration ceremony where KTR and the family members of the Colonel paid a floral tribute to the brave soldier.

The Telangana Government provided a compensation of Rs 5 crore to Santosh Babu's family, besides a Group-I post to his wife and a residential plot. Subsequently, Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao had announced the establishment of a statue of the Colonel in his hometown.

For over a year, India has been engaged in a military standoff with China in the eastern Ladakh sector and has seen fierce clashes between troops in the Galwan valley and other areas. The tensions between the two sides came down as they agreed to disengage from the Pangong Tso lake area.