Excelsior Correspondent
KARGIL, July 26: Rich tributes were paid to martyrs on the 13th ‘Operation Vijay Diwas’anniversary celebrations signifying the glorious victory of Indian Armed Forces in 1999 Kargil war.
The proceedings of the day began with a solemn Wreath laying ceremony at ‘Op Vijay War Memorial’ at Dras, led by chief guest, Lt Gen KT Parnaik, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Northern Command. Wreaths were also laid by retired officers, gallantry award winners as well as family members of the valiant martyrs, while in an impressive fly past Army Aviation helicopters showered flower petals over the war memorial.
This was followed by a ‘Sainik Sammelan’, wherein, the chief guest recalled how the Armed Forces, undaunted by the adverse terrain and extreme weather conditions, rose to the occasion during ‘Operation Vijay’ to safeguard the honour and territorial integrity of the Nation. He called upon all ranks to draw inspiration from the unity of purpose, steely resolve and spirit of sacrifice, displayed by our men and continue to strive hard in pursuit of excellence to raise the standards set. The ‘Sainik Sammelan’ concluded with honouring of Veer Naaris and next of kin of martyrs. The chief guest interacted with the media on the side lines of the ceremony. The event also included tea for all troops and the guests.
Not to be left behind in their patriotic fervor, the trio of Shankar, Ehsan and Loy represented Bollywood through an entertainment programme. They paid rich tribute to the martyrs through their soulful performance. The artists with the gaiety, intensity and variety of their performance, captivated the audience and left them in trance. It was a lively event with a patriotic theme which was enjoyed by all.
The evening celebrations were marked with ‘Mass Band Display’ followed by Beating the retreat. Next in the series of events was Memorial Service in which candles and lamps were lit up at the War Memorial to pay tributes to the befallen heroes. In a be-fitting finale to the celebrations, the event was rounded up with Son-et’-Lumiere’, a light and sound show on Operation Vijay.
Meanwhile, on the eve of 13th Kargil Vijay Diwas, a meeting of voluteers of ‘Tanda Tiger Force’ was held at village Tanda, the place of origin of Tanda Tiger Force to pay homage to 7 civilian porters who were killed in Kargil War of 1999.
Tanda Tiger Force was raised in June 1999, in an emergency, to help Army fight the Kargil War by carrying their stores and rations uphill.
To meet the urgent requirement of 3600 porters, Brig Chauhan, the Sub Area Cmdr contacted K P Singh, a social activist form Tanda, to assist in this tremendous task of finding porters.
Later the enrolment continued at Tanda under the aegis of 10 Inf Div and HQ Northern Command. More than 2500 volunteers from far and wide came to Tanda go to Kargil, used all their energies enthusiastically to meet the requirement of the Army. seven volunteer porters gave their life for India.
First to be martyred was Kamlesh Kumar of villge Hakla (Chatha) followed by Daler Singh, Madan Singh and Padhuman Singh of village Kulo (Samba), Sham Singh of Ramnagar, Khangdra Bahadur of Nepal and Tsering Motup of Ladakh. They did proud to J&K. Their names have been inscribed in our history in golden letters.
Those present in the meeting paid rich tributes to the martyrs and prayed for prosperity of their families.
They also thanked Army authorities for giving ceremonial farewell to the martyrs, draped in national flag, enrolling all fit porters in the Army and giving liberal compensation to the martyrs’ kiths and kins.
Services of K P Singh were recognized by the award of Northern Army Commander’s Commendation Card to him on the Independence Day. It was resolved that Dogras will always be ready to face security threat to the State and the nation.
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