PM Modi urges people to visit Smriti Van in Kutch

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 29 August 2023 in a post on microblogging site X(earlier known as Twitter) asked the people to visit the Smriti Van in Bhuj,Kutch . On 28 August last year PM Modi had inaugurated the Smriti Van Memorial and Veer Bal Smarak in Bhuj in Kutch district of Gujarat. 

The Smriti Van Memorial  and Veer Bal Smarak  is a tribute to the lives lost in the devastating earthquake which struck Bhuj on 26 January 2001.

The Earthquake measuring 6.9 on the Richter scale caused widespread destruction and loss  and is considered to be the most devastating earthquake to hit India . According to the official estimate 13,572 people  were killed and over 21,000 people were injured. 

Smriti Van memorial 

The Smriti Van Earthquake Museum, Bhuj was conceived as a tribute to the resilience of the people of Bhuj and as a memorial to the victims of the earthquake . It is spread on approximately 470 acres and is divided into seven blocks based on seven themes: rebirth, rediscover, restore, rebuild, rethink, relive, and renew.

The names of the victims of the earthquakes are  engraved on the memorial.

Veer Bal Smarak 

The Veer Bal Smarak is situated in Anjar in Kutch. On the fateful day 185 school children and about 20 teachers were crushed to death in the school building debris due to the earthquake on 26 January 2001.

The Veer Bal Smarak is dedicated to those children and the teachers. The names of the school children and teachers are engraved in the memorial.

Chief Minister of Gujarat : Bhupendrabhai Patel