Srinagar, Mar 21: Northern Army Commander Lt Gen Upendra Dwivedi Tuesday said the status quo is maintained with China on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh and talks are going on at different levels and formations are at a high level of Operation preparedness.
The General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GoC) of Udhampur-based Northern Command was addressing a mega ‘Veterans Sampark’ rally which was attended by over 800 veterans and ‘veer naris’ at a unit of Jammu and Kashmir Rifles at Digiana in Jammu.
He said about the current situation, Status Quo is maintained with China on LAC. Talks are going on at different levels and all our formations are at high level of Op Preparedness, the GOC said.
“Ceasefire continues on alone the Line of Control (LoC) with Pakistan and there have been some infiltration attempts which have been successfully foiled by our units. The situation in the hinterland is largely under control,” he said.
Lt Gen Dwivedi said Army’s counter-insurgency/counter-terrorism grid is fully working with civil administration and efforts are on to stop such incidents completely.
“Our regiment was raised in Jammu. In 1820 under the leadership of Maharaja Gulab Singh, this regiment hoisted its glory by conquering areas like Tibet, Gilgit, Yasin, Darel, Hunza – Nagar, Chilas, and Chitral,” he said.
The GOC said under the leadership of General Zorawar Singh. Our regiment has participated in every war since 1820 and has given a wonderful example of its valor and sacrifice, he said.
“Our regiment has participated in every war since 1820 and has given a wonderful example of its valor and sacrifice,” the northern commander said.
Recognizing our bravery in the Husainiwala Operation of 4 JAK RIF and our bravery in history, the northern commander said we were made an integral part of the Indian Army as the Jammu and Kashmir Regiment.
The GOC said in 1963, our regiment was again renamed as Jammu and Kashmir Rifles Regiment. It has set many examples of service to the country in every field due to which it has been honored with a total of 2365 Awards including 02 PVC, 02 AC, 01 Padam Bhushan, 05 MVC, 11 KC.
He said through this rally, we would like to honour those ex-servicemen because of whom we are free today. We owe a debt to the heroes of this country, which can never be repaid, but the nation will always express gratitude and respect towards them, he said.
“I took over the charge of Army Cdr Northern Command and Colonel of the Regiment of Jammu and Kashmir Rifles and Ladakh Scouts on Feb 01 and it was my heartfelt desire to reach out to all ex-servicemen, their next of kin and Veer Naris in remote areas, the GOC said.
He said the purpose of this rally is to reach out to the Ex-servicemen of Jammu and Kashmir Rifked, their closest relatives and Veer Naris living in the nearest district of Jammu and surrounding areas, to solve their problems and anomalies related to pension and to get medical help from medical experts.
Referring to the Agniveer scheme, he said under the new policy there will be a written test first and only those who pass the written test will be called for physical and medical tests.
He said the Army is committed to providing alternate career options to its veterans and has set up Army Welfare Placement Organisation and Directorate of Resettlement North Zone.
The Army commander also informed the gathering about the transit facility set up by Garud Defence Guidance Cell (GDGC).
“Efforts made by the Directorate of Indian Army Veterans (DIAV). Brig Gurmeet Singh Shan (Retd), Dir Sainik Welfare Department, J&K has informed you about the efforts being made by DIAV, a Helpdesk has also been set up here where you can get more information,” he said.
The GoC said the Veterans Cell functions directly under the Adjutant General, giving necessary importance to the management of Veterans affairs in the Indian Army.
“It is my endeavour to meet my ex-soldiers and brave women at their homes. Keeping this in mind, we have met ex-servicemen and Veernaris in Kupwara, Srinagar, Palampur, Leh, Akhnoor, Rajouri, and Dehradun and will organize rallies in Anantnag, Amritsar, Jutogh and Darjeeling in the future,” he added.
