GUWAHATI, Feb 18 � The ten-member delegation of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA), currently on a tour to Kolkata and Guwahati, is visiting the Guwahati War Cemetery tomorrow to pay their homage to those soldiers of the Allied Forces who as Commonwealth servicemen, had laid down their lives while resisting the Axis Powers in this part of the globe during World War-II.
The Cemetery, located on the Navagraha Road in the Silpukhuri area of the city, was built during the World War-II by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC). It has 512 graves of the Commonwealth servicemen of the World War-II, said Mr Salew Pfotte, Regional Manager (NE India) of the CWGC while talking to this newspaper here today.
He said the visit of the delegation to the Cemetery has been organised by the Kolkata office of the British Deputy High Commissioner.
The members of the delegation will arrive at the Cemetery at 9 am tomorrow and after laying the wreaths of flower on the cross of sacrifice, will leave the Cemetery at 9-15. The CPA delegation members will not take part in any interaction with the media or the public, Pfotte said.
In the country, there are ten war cemeteries containing the graves of the Commonwealth servicemen of the World War -II. Five of them are located in the NE region, while an equal number of such cemeteries are located in the rest of the country.
The NE cemeteries include - one in each of Kohima, Digboi and Guwahati and two in Imphal. The other five cemeteries are located in Kolkata, Ranchi, Delhi, Pune and Chennai, Pfotte said.
Family members and close relatives of the Commonwealth servicemen whose bodies are buried in the Guwahati War Cemetery use to visit it from time to time to pay their homage to their beloved ones, the CWGC Regional Manager apprised.
He regretted that despite its having immense potential as an important tourist destination, the State Tourism Department has not included the Guwahati Cemetery in its list of tourist destinations.
