SRINAGAR – A day after militants killed eight Army personnel in Srinagar, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi arrived at Udhampur for a two-day visit to Jammu Kashmir.
The Prime Minister will lay the foundation stone of 850 MW Hydro Power Project at Ratle in Kishtwar.
Sending out a strong message to the militant groups, Manmohan Singh said, “India is firmly united against terrorism. Won’t let them succeed in their nefarious designs.”
On Monday, militants had killed eight soldiers and wounded 16 in Srinagar as they ambushed a convoy carrying unarmed troops returning from vacation. This was the second attack in the Srinagar area in three days and was owned up by Hizbul Mujahideen. Sources said the police had some inputs that militants could strike in the city ahead of the VVIP visit.
Manmohan Singh is also expected to announce a package for border districts of Jammu and Kashmir during the visit.
Singh and Gandhi will also launch train service on a railway section between Qazigund in Kashmir and Banihal in Jammu region that will provide an all-weather link to the Valley which often gets cut off from rest of the country in the winter season due to heavy snowfall.
During his stay in Srinagar, Singh will also take stock of the implementation of the Rs 37,000-crore reconstruction package for the state he had initiated in 2004 under the Prime Minister’s Reconstruction Plan.