Gen Seth reaches Kashmir on first visit after taking over as Army chief

COAS calls on LG, CM in Srinagar

Security review at Northern Command today

Sanjeev Pargal

JAMMU, July 7: New Army chief Gen Dhiraj Seth reached Kashmir on his maiden visit today after taking over as the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) on June 30 and reviewed security situation in the Valley.

The Army chief reached 15 Corps headquarters at Badamibagh Cantonment, Srinagar directly from New Delhi this afternoon and was closeted with the top Army Commanders for taking first-hand account of the situation on all fronts in Jammu and Kashmir.

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This is first visit of Gen Seth to the Union Territory and comes within a week after taking over charge as the COAS from Gen Upendra Dwivedi.

Top Army Commanders briefed the new Army chief over prevailing situation in the UT especially the Kashmir Valley.

Situation prevailing along the Line of Control (LoC), anti-terror operations and ongoing annual pilgrimage of Shri Amarnath Ji in South Kashmir Himalayas figured prominently at the meeting, as per the sources. However, no official statement was issued by the Army on visit of the COAS to Kashmir.

The Army chief also called on Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha at Lok Bhavan in Srinagar.

“The Lieutenant Governor and the Army chief reviewed prevailing security situation in the region. The Army chief was accompanied by Lieutenant General Balbir Singh, GOC Chinar Corps,” an official statement issued by the Lok Bhavan said.

The Army Chief also called on Chief Minister Omar Abdullah. The CM extended best wishes to Gen Seth on taking over the prestigious appointment

The Army chief will visit the Northern Command headquarters in Udhampur for high level review of security situation tomorrow.

"Army has been actively involved in annual pilgrimage of Shri Amarnath Ji in Jammu and Kashmir which began on July 3 and will continue for 57 days till August 28. Troops have been manning vulnerable spots of the yatra including peaks surrounding the cave shrine in South Kashmir,'' the sources said.

As this was first visit of Gen Seth to the Kashmir Valley as the Army chief, he was given detailed briefing about the formations, deployments and Anti-Infiltration Grid along the Line of Control (LoC) with Pakistan.

Troops have been maintaining high alert all along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir to thwart infiltration attempts by the terrorists from Pakistan. Majority of intrusion bids have been successfully thwarted by the troops resulting into killing of many terrorists.

Few days back, new Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Gen NS Raja Subramani undertook three days visit to Jammu and Kashmir. He visited Northern Command headquarters at Udhampur, Nagrota Corps and Srinagar Corps besides forward areas along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir for on-spot review of security situation in the UT.

This was Gen Subramani's first visit to Jammu and Kashmir after taking over as new CDS on May 31 from Gen Anil Chauhan.

The Army has been maintaining pressure on the terrorists in upper reaches to ensure that they don't manage to strike. Operations have been going on in Shopian and Rajouri where the terrorists are suspected to be hiding besides other places in the upper reaches of Jammu and Kashmir where they can take shelter.

Annual pilgrimage of Shri Amarnath Ji has been going on smoothly with number of yatris having darshan of holy Ice Lingam of Lord Shiva in South Kashmir Himalayas reaching 1.17 lakh in first five days. The yatra will conclude on August 28 coinciding with Sharavan Purnima and Raksha Bandhan.