SRINAGAR: President Ram Nath Kovind on Friday paid tributes to martyrs of the 1999 Kargil war on the 20th anniversary of ‘Vijay Diwas’ at war memorial in Badami Bagh Cantonment, headquarters of 15 Corps in summer capital, Srinagar.
Mr Kovind, who was scheduled to join Vijay Diwas function and pay tributes at war memorial at Drass in Kargil district of Ladakh region, could not travel there on Friday due to bad weather.
Later, the function was held in Srinagar, where President Kovind paid floral tribute at Chinar Corps War Memorial in Badami Bagh Cantonment. J&K Governor Satya Pal Malik and other senior Army and civil administration officers were also present at the function.
President Kovind later signed the visitors’ book at the headquarters of 15 Corps. However, Army chief General Bipin Rawat attended the Vijay Diwas function at Drass in Kargil.
Taking to micro-blogging site Twitter earlier in the day, President Kovind said, “On Kargil Vijay Diwas, a grateful nation acknowledges the gallantry of our Armed Forces on the heights of Kargil in 1999. We salute the grit and valour of those who defended India, and record our everlasting debt to those who never returned. Jai Hind.”
The war memorial in Drass has around 500 tombstones with the name of soldiers inscribed in them.
On July 26, 1999 Indian Armed Forces pushed back Pakistani intruders from our boundary. A total of 527 soldiers made supreme sacrifice during the three-month long war.
(AGENCIES)
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