Army to launch 3 key projects
Youth, troops, civilians to join padyatra
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, July 25: Union Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, Minister of State for Defence Sanjay Seth and Army chief Gen Upendra Dwivedi will attend ‘Kargil Vijay Diwas’ celebrations at Drass in Kargil district in the Union Territory of Ladakh tomorrow when the Army will launch three key projects, including a portal where citizens can pay ‘e-shradhanjali’ to martyrs.
Both Union Ministers reached Kargil today and attended cultural and other functions.
Tomorrow is 26th Kargil Vijay Diwas as it was on July 26, 1999 that the Indian Army announced the successful culmination of ‘Operation Vijay’, declaring victory after a nearly three-month-long battle in the icy heights of Kargil, including super-high-altitude locations, such as Tololing and Tiger Hill. Kargil was then part of erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir but now falls in the UT of Ladakh, which was created after bifurcation of J&K on August 5, 2019
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Officials said Mandaviya will lead a ‘padyatra’ featuring over 1,000 youth volunteers, veterans, armed forces personnel, families of fallen soldiers, and civil society members in Drass tomorrow. He will be joined by Minister of State for Defence Sanjay Seth.
The Padyatra, covering a distance of 1.5 kilometers, will commence at 7am from the grounds of Himabass Public High School, Drass, and will conclude at the grounds of Government Higher Secondary School, Bhimbet.
The two Ministers, accompanied by 100 youth volunteers, will then proceed to the Kargil War Memorial to lay wreaths and offer homage to the soldiers who made the supreme sacrifice during the 1999 conflict with Pakistan.
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Mandaviya will also felicitate 26 women bikers of the Shakti Udgosh Foundation, who will arrive at the war memorial after completing a long-distance motorbike rally undertaken as a tribute to the soldiers who lost their lives.
Northern Command chief Lt Gen Pratik Sharma and senior Army Commanders will be present at the function.
Besides, the war veterans, families of war heroes and many dignitaries have already reached Drass to join the Vijay Diwas celebrations.
Meanwhile, the Army will inaugurate three key projects in Kargil tomorrow on the occasion of Vijay Diwas.
The projects include a portal where citizens can pay ‘e-shradhanjali’ to martyrs, a QR code-based audio application on which people can listen to the stories of the battles fought during the 1999 Kargil war and the Indus Viewpoint, which will offer people a chance to go up to the Line of Control (LoC) in Batalik sector.
“The citizens can now pay e-shradhanjali to the heroes who made the supreme sacrifice for the country without visiting memorials. The project is being launched to sensitise people about the sacrifices made by the Armed Forces and the hardships they face while discharging their duties,” the officials said.
Using the QR code-based application.
Also, the people can listen to stories about the various battles that were fought during the 1999 Kargil war against Pakistani intruders by using the QR-code based application. The concept is similar to museums, where the visitors can listen to the details of the exhibits using earphones.
“Here people will get to listen to the saga of courage, valour, bravery and sacrifice by the soldiers,” the officials said.
Indus Viewpoint is the third project which will be inaugurated tomorrow. It will allow visitors to go up to the LoC in the Batalik sector.
As per the officials, this will give an idea to the visitors about the conditions in which soldiers serve, the difficulties and constant dangers they face on a day-to-day basis to ensure that the nation remains safe.
Batalik was one of the main battlegrounds during the Kargil war. Besides battling the enemy, the soldiers had to contend with inhospitable terrain and high altitude.
Located at an altitude of over 10,000 feet, Batalik was the focal point of Kargil war due to its strategic location between Kargil, Leh and Baltistan.
The small village in the Indus River valley has now become a major tourist attraction.
Meanwhile, the Army today staged a drone show in Drass as part of the Kargil Vijay Diwas commemorations, highlighting the technological advancements made in border security since the 1999 war with Pakistan.
The drones flew over the arena and showcased their capabilities of undertaking various tasks, including surveillance, deliveries and targeting enemy positions by firing explosives.
The Unmanned Aerial Vehicles included Logistic Drones that can be operated at a high altitude of around 4,000 meters, a technology which has been developed indigenously.
The drone show also included robotic dogs, which can be used for carrying loads like ammunition in rough terrains as well as for patrolling purposes along the Line of Control.
The drones and other technologies inducted into the Army since the Kargil war will help increase the effectiveness of surveillance and delivery of logistics to remote areas while keeping an eye on inimical elements effectively, the officials said.
They added that these technologies will reduce the fatigue and dangers faced by soldiers in difficult terrain and tough weather conditions in the Ladakh region.
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