Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Nov 26: General Officer Commanding (GOC) 16 Corps Lt Gen KH Singh said that the militants were trying to disturb ongoing Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir but the troops were fully alive to the situation and would thwart their plans.
In a brief chat with media at Pallanwalla on the occasion of Veterans’ Rally, the GOC of Nagrota Corps said the Army wouldn’t allow the militants to succeed in their nefarious designs to disturb the Assembly elections, the first phase of which was completed yesterday while four phases were still remaining. The last phase of voting will be held on December 20.
“Apart from border, also in hinterlands, there are some inputs that the militants are trying to disturb the elections process (in Jammu and Kashmir),” Lt Gen Singh said.
He maintained that armed forces were ready and alert to foil their designs and fully prepared to deal with these elements.
Lt Gen Singh was attending a Veterans’ Rally organised by the ‘Guardians of LC Brigade’, part of Crossed Swords Division, today at Pallanwalla Military Station.
About 1,500 veterans, including retired officers and 90 Veer Naris of the region participated in the rally, during which welfare schemes and measures for improvement and uplift of the veterans and veer naris were discussed.
On the issue of infiltration, Lt Gen Singh said during these polls the counter infiltration grid along the LoC has been strengthened “so that such attempts could be stopped”.
“You must have seen in the South of Pir Panjal, Army has maintained alertness to control infiltration and ceasefire violations”, he said.
Lt Gen Singh also interacted with all veterans and Veer Naris, to understand their problems and educate them about welfare schemes.
He reiterated that the veterans and Veer Naris were a priority for the Army and no stone would remain unturned to ensure they were looked after in every aspect affecting their welfare.
Meanwhile, As Jammu and Kashmir gears up for the second phase of Assembly elections next week, a top Army official today chaired a joint security coordination meeting in south Kashmir and assured the election authorities of full assistance to ensure peaceful voting as was witnessed in the first phase.
“A joint security coordination meeting was held at the Khanabal-based headquarters of Sector 1 Rashtriya Rifles to take forward the success of the incident-free first phase of the Assembly elections in Kashmir to the other phases in December,” Army said in a statement here.
The Army said the aim of the meeting, chaired by General Officer Commanding of the Srinagar-based 15 Corps Lt Gen Subrata Saha, was to share the security related experiences of first phase held in the area of responsibility of Sector 3 and draw out the strategy for the next three phases scheduled on December 2, 9 and 14 in the Valley.
The final and fifth phase involve 20 constituencies of Jammu region on December 20.
Five Assembly constituencies of Bandipora and Ganderbal districts of the Valley went to polls along with 11 other constituencies of Jammu and Ladakh regions yesterday. The turnout in the first phase was more than 70 per cent.
Eighteen constituencies including nine in Kupwara and Kulgam districts of the Valley are going to polls in the second phase on December 2.
The Army said they are preparing to make arrangements similar to those of the first phase when the security forces adopted outstanding measures like innovative arrangements for delivery of EVMs to the inaccessible areas using All Terrain Vehicles, security of the polling staff, and sanitisation of the polling booth and adjoining areas.
The Army was taking measures like provisioning of area security including ‘near real time’ reaction to counter the threats, staggered movement of the polling staff and EVMs post elections and an excellent strategy for keeping the areas under surveillance and intimate vigil through multiple means, thereby beating the designs of the inimical elements.
Commander of Sector 3 Rashtriya Rifles Brig G S Kular, who was responsible for the areas where polling took place in first phase, shared his experiences, means and methods adopted for flawless security arrangements as also the lessons drawn, for the benefit of those who will be responsible for the security in the next three phases of polling, the Army said.
The meeting was attended by General Officer Commanding of Victor Force Maj Gen S T Upasani, Inspector General of Police (Kashmir) A G Mir, Brigadier General Staff of 15 Corps Brig Paramjit Singh, Sector Commanders of the four Rashtriya Rifles Sectors operating in South Kashmir, DIG South Kashmir, SSPs of Awantipora, Anantnag and Shopian and SP Pulwama and Deputy Commissioner Anantnag, the Army said.
The Army said the joint security grid established during the first phase polling was the outcome of series of deliberations starting from the Core Group Meeting held on November 1 and followed by the separate meetings for South, Central and North Kashmir between November 10 and 17, by Lt Gen Saha and the IGP.
The strategies drawn through these deliberations were put into practice by integrating the different echelons of functioning from apex to the soldier-constable level, the Army said.
Addressing the meeting, Lt Gen Saha commended the security forces for their remarkable performance towards generating an enhanced sense of security in the areas.
The Corps Commander assured the commanders of different security organisations present in the meeting that all forms of assistance will be provided for enabling the forces to put the best foot forward.
Trending Now
E-Paper
Follow our WhatsApp channel