Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Aug 18: Army chief Gen Bikram Singh today visited Siachen Glacier, the highest battlefield in the world, and forward posts of Army in Eastern Ladakh, where India shared Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China.
The problems often cropped up between Indian Army and People’s Liberation Army of China as boundaries between the two countries hadn’t been demarcated.
Gen Singh, who was on his first three-days visit to Ladakh region, visited forwards posts, bordering China, in Eastern Ladakh and reviewed operational preparedness of troops. He visited a number of forward posts and inter-acted with field commanders of the Army and jawans, performing the duties in difficult and tough terrain.
Boosting morale of the troops with his personal visit to forward border posts with China, the Army chief lauded the courage and valour of the jawans with which they were manning and guarding the posts.
Gen Singh visited Siachen base camp and forward posts in Eastern Ladakh beyond Shyok river during second day of his visit to Ladakh where he was briefed by the formation commanders on the situation there, official sources said.
India shared a long unsettled boundary with China in Ladakh. As the boundary has not been demarcated, problems often cropped up when nomads entered no man’s or prohibited land for grazing of cattle. At Dumchok recently, the PLA had stopped some works.
The nomads have also been quite often pushed back from the prohibited land, where they had gone for grazing cattle. However, despite no demarcation, both sides generally avoided confrontation on the LAC, sources said.
The Army chief called upon the troops to man the forward posts efficiently and with dedication.
Gen Singh had yesterday reviewed the situation on border with China in Ladakh and Siachen Glacier, where Indo-Pak troops have been maintaining calm for past quite some time, with Northern Command chief Lt Gen KT Parnaik and Leh based 14 Corps GOC Lt Gen Rajan Bakshi on his arrival in Leh yesterday afternoon.
The Army chief would fly back to New Delhi tomorrow afternoon. This was his first visit to Ladakh after taking over as Chief of Army Staff on May 31. Earlier, he had visited Northern Command in Udhampur and Kashmir Valley including forward areas on the Line of Control (LoC).
Sources said the Army chief’s three days Ladakh visit was aimed at having a detailed view of security scenario prevailing along China borders in Ladakh and with Pakistan in Siachen Glacier.
Gen Singh also flew along the LAC to lay wreath at the Siachen War Memorial there.
Meanwhile, against the backdrop of stand-offs between officers and jawans, Gen Singh asked the battalion commanders to create a “congenial climate” in their units for the overall growth of the organisation.
“Gen Singh emphasised the core values of the Army and stressed upon the Commanding Officers for creating a congenial climate in their units to enable collective growth of the organization,” sources said.
The remarks come after three stand-offs between officers and jawans in the last one year.
In the latest incident in Samba, jawans and officers were engaged in a stand-off at the 16 Cavalry Unit after the suicide of a jawan.
In a similar incident, jawans and officers had clashed in Nyoma in Ladakh in May leaving the Commanding Officer and four other ranks injured.
Soon after the Samba incident, the Army chief had issued instructions to the officers to take corrective actions to avoid such incidents and strengthen the culture of the 1.3 million-strong force.
While interacting with the troops, the Army chief complimented them for their dedication and steadfastness while guarding the borders in such hazardous conditions.
He also visited the Gurudwara Pathar Sahab in the evening.
After taking over the charge, Army chief has been visiting various commands. In the past two and half months, he has covered all the Northern Commands and formations facing dual threat from the east and west.
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