Terrorists Making Most Of The Earthquake

The Indian Army has foiled two major bids in the last four days since the earthquake and killed 16 infiltrators and recovered a huge quantity of RDX being smuggled in to blow convoys carrying relief materials on the Jammu-Srinagar highway.

Operational commanders are a worried lot as terrorists are making efforts to escalate violence while the attention of the security forces remains diverted on two fronts - setting its own devastated house in order and offering relief in the region to the affected people.

The Army has got only a month or so to rebuild its bunkers and pickets on the Line of Control (LOC) which were flattened by the earthquake. Any delay will hamper the reconstruction work owing to heavy snows that begin to pile up from November-end.

The apprehensions of the Army commanders over terrorists' activities are supported by events on ground. Eight militants were killed on Tuesday when they were tried to sneak into the Nowgam sector of Kupwara district. Five AK assault rifles, two pistols and a large quantity of ammunition and explosives were recovered from the killed terrorists, a defense spokesperson said, adding the operation in the sector was still continuing.

This was the second unsuccessful attempt by militants to sneak into the Valley since the devastating earthquake struck the state four days ago. Eight militants were killed by the troops in Gulmarg sector of Baramulla district on Saturday, the day the earthquake struck the adjacent Uri and Tangdhar sectors.

Officials feel the militants are apparently trying to take advantage of the current situation and are trying to push in as many militants taking advantage of the fact that the armed forces and the civil administration are engaged in rescue and relief operations.

Given this background, the commanders are keen to repair the damaged bunkers and pickets as most of the infrastructure is located along the 150-km-long LOC stretch between Uri and Tangdhar.

Moreover, reports indicate that anti-infiltration fencing along the LOC is also partially damaged though officials denied it. It may be mentioned here the installation of fence, backed by thermal imagers and detection sensors a year back, has brought down the rate of infiltration by about 80 per cent.

While the Air Force is lucky to escape the wrath of the earthquake, the Army has borne the brunt with many of its pickets and bunkers on the Line of Control (LOC) flattened. In fact, most of the 38 casualties suffered by the Army included soldiers manning these posts as they were buried under the debris.

Realizing the importance of maintaining functional posts in these inaccessible but strategically important areas along the LOC and bordering districts, the Army, in fact, is working simultaneously to repair their infrastructure.

Dividing their attention between coordinating massive relief operations and reaching out to people in the worst-affected districts of Uri and Tangdhar and restoring the Army infrastructure, the top commanders have geared their machinery for meeting the deadline.

They appreciate the fact that the men in olive green are the only lifeline between the people living in remote hamlets and rest of the country and they look up to the army to provide them with basic amenities like blankets, medicines, food and potable water.

Elaborating upon the seriousness of the situation, officials said the Army engineers are now working along with the civil administration to rebuild bridges, clear crucial roads now blocked by huge boulders and restore telecommunication links.

The Army mobile patrols are also making all efforts to reach each and every home in remote hamlets to assess the damage and provide relief. Most of the kutcha roads leading to these clusters are now blocked by landslides and the Army will have to clear these lifelines manually in order to sustain regular relief supplies.

Faced with a very rugged terrain and losses to the organization, the Army, however, has not lost its focus and the soldiers have lived to the expectations of the nation in the hour of crisis.