On her maiden two-day visit to militancy-hit Jammu & Kashmir, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman focussed on “strengthening counter-insurgency grid on borders with Pakistan” and “matching road infrastructure near the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China”, military sources said.
On the second day of her tour on Saturday, Ms. Sitharaman visited the forward locations of Leh and Siachen in the Ladakh region.
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She took stock of Border Road Organisation projects connecting Leh with areas close to the LAC, where China has built high-grade road infrastructure and provided round-the-clock power supply.
Sources said the Minister stressed matching “infrastructure with China by expanding roadways in the cold mountain region”.
She inaugurated a bridge on the Shyok river between Durbuk and Daulat Beg Oldi, which remains volatile by virtue of frequent trespassing by Chinese forces.
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Ms. Sitharamam was accompanied by the Chief of the Army Staff, General Bipin Rawat; Lt. Gen. D Anbu, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Northern Army Command; and the Chinar Corps Commander. She interacted with the soldiers who man the Siachen glacier, the highest battleground in the world, and “conveyed her best wishes on the auspicious occasion of Dasara”. She met Indian Air Force (IAF) personnel in Leh.
Earlier in Srinagar, Ms. Sitharaman visited the forward areas in north Kashmir, exactly a year after the surgical strikes across the Line of Control (LoC) into Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
The Minister’s stress was on ensuring “robust counter-infiltration posture” along the LoC, sources said.
Counter insurgency
A Defence spokesman said the Minister expressed satisfaction over the “effectiveness of the intelligence and operational grids” against growing infiltration.