Tourism industry in Arunachal Pradesh has received a shot in the arm with the Union Ministry of Culture sanctioning funds for the construction of a museum in memory of those who laid down their lives in World War II at Nampong in Changlang district.

The Second World War Memorial Museum, which will come up adjacent to the historic Stilwell Road, is expected to boost tourist inflow from South East Asian countries.

“The museum, to be constructed with a sanctioned amount of Rs 2.25 crore, will also be in honour of the Arunachalees who laid down their lives fighting under the British,” Director of Research of Arunachal Pradesh Government Tage Tada said.

Tada said that the sanctioned fund had already been released in the current fiscal and his department was undertaking the site selection job for the proposed museum.

“We have already entrusted the responsibility to the concerned engineering department for preparing the master plan of the building,” he stated.

He said the museum would not only preserve the remnants of the war, but also personal belongings of the soldiers and other persons involved.

The Stillwell Road, near which the museum will be set up, is part of a tourist circuit where there already exist a World War II cemetery near Jairampur, Hell Gate and the Iron Bridge, the last two being the living testimonies to the war.

The National Highways Authority of India has been undertaking renovation and construction of the Stilwell Road up to Pangsau Pass, the last Indian post.

“We have asked the NHAI to re-align the road near the Hell Gate and the Iron Bridge so that both structures could be preserved as historical evidences of the war. They have already agreed upon,” he said.

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