Renaming railway station after freedom fighter Sukhdev: Trust members’ hunger strike enters Day 5 in Ludhiana

Tribhuvan said after being informed by the Union Government that recommendations must originate from the state administration, the trust repeatedly petitioned the deputy commissioner and local authorities without success, leaving them with no alternative to protest

The sequential hunger strike organised by the Shaheed Sukhdev Thapar Memorial Trust to demand that Ludhiana Junction railway station be named after the freedom fighter entered its fifth day on Sunday.

The trust also urged authorities to establish a system for the regular maintenance of the historic building. (HT)

Trust members, including Sukhdev Thapar’s 70-year-old nephew Ashok Thapar, sit on a daily hunger strike from 10am to 6pm at the martyr’s birthplace in Naughera. Ashok Thapar’s son, Tribhuvan Thapar, stated that the trust has been campaigning since 2023 to honour the martyr. Drawing a parallel, he noted that just as Bhagat Singh’s sacrifice was commemorated by naming the Mohali airport after him, the family seeks a fitting tribute for Sukhdev.

Tribhuvan said after being informed by the Union Government that recommendations must originate from the state administration, the trust repeatedly petitioned the deputy commissioner and local authorities without success, leaving them with no alternative to protest.

Alongside renaming the railway station, the trust is pressing for the completion of a 100m access path leading to Sukhdev Thapar’s birthplace.

“The government has acquired land ,structures in the way have also been demolished, but the path is yet to be constructed,” he said.

The trust also urged authorities to establish a system for the regular maintenance of the historic building.