Largest underwater portrait of Captain Vikram Batra sets URF record

As part of the Kargil Vijay Diwas celebrations, Pangode Military Station in Trivandrum hosted an installation of an underwater portrait of late Captain Vikram Batra, Param Vir Chakra, by artist ‘Da Vinci’ Suresh on Tuesday.

The event was organised by the Indian Army in collaboration with the Bond Water Sports Pvt Ltd scuba team to commemorate Kargil Vijay Diwas, according to a defence statement.

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According to the report, the largest underwater portrait of Captain Batra created at Pangode Military Station was certified by the URF World Records (Universal Records Forum). During the event, the URF authorities presented the World Record certificate.

The Station Commander of Pangode Military Station, who was the chief guest of the event, presented a memento to the artist and team of Bond Water Sports Pvt Ltd, according to the release, which also noted that a military band display was organised as part of the event. The artist used tiles to create the unique 1,500 sq ft underwater installation, which took eight hours to complete.

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The Station Commander also visited the Pangode War Memorial to lay a wreath in honour of the Kargil war heroes.

Every year on July 26, the “Kargil Vijay Diwas” holiday is observed to honour the heroes of the Indian Army who gave their lives to defeat Pakistan and retake all Indian territories in the Kargil district of Jammu and Kashmir. The Kargil War came to an end 23 years ago on Tuesday.

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During the conflict, the Indian Army launched “Operation Vijay” to retake strategic positions that Pakistani forces had taken by crossing the Line of Control while posing as Kashmiri insurgents. Between May 3 and July 26, 84 days into the conflict, hundreds of soldiers on both sides lost their lives.