Srinagar- Amid a spurt in militant attacks, the government forces on Friday stepped up vigil and carried out random frisking in many parts of the Valley in the run up to Independence celebrations next Monday.
According to reports, Police and the paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) have beefed up security arrangements in the Valley to thwart any untoward incident and ensure smooth Independence Day celebrations.
“In wake of the recent Fidayeen attack and attack on migrant labourers in J&K, terror outfits could carry out attacks to disrupt peace and normalcy and to harm unarmed civilians as they’ve recently tried to do so,” a police officer told Kashmir Observer on Friday.
“That’s why, the security has been beefed up across the Valley especially in Srinagar as the main Independence Day celebrations are being held in the city. Otherwise, no specific intelligence input has been received as of now.”
Pertinently, a multi-layer security arrangement with both ground and aerial surveillance has also been thrown across the Union Territory to thwart any untoward incident during Independence Day celebrations.
In Srinagar, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha is expected to preside over the main I-Day function that is scheduled to be held at Sher-e-Kashmir Cricket Stadium in Srinagar. Besides LG, several chief guests including top officials of the civil administration, police, Bharatiya Janata party and DDC members are also expected to be present at the function.
The officials said a random search of vehicles and checking and frisking of people is being carried out at several places across the valley, especially around the venues of the Independence Day functions.
The checking continued on regular intervals at several places including Lal Chowk, Ram Munshi Bagh, Indra Nagar, Dalgate, Barbarshah, Munawar abad, Khanyar, Rajbagh, Kothi Bagh, Shaheed Gunj, TRC, Kral Khud and several other areas.
A CRPF official while speaking to Kashmir Observer said that all necessary security arrangements have been put in place across the valley and the forces are on alert.
“There is checking, frisking, and drone surveillance. We are also using technical surveillance. Like every year, this year too, we will ensure an incident-free function,” the official said, while urging people to participate in the August 15 functions.
As per the official, there won’t be any additional deployment of paramilitary troops and bunkers, as the number of forces currently stationed in the city is enough to maintain the law & order situation.
Forces have also started anti-sabotage checking to thwart any attempt of militants to bring in arms and explosives ahead of the Independence day. Special nakas, drones, CCTV mounted on security vehicles and buildings, human intelligence, special weapons, security personnel atop high rise buildings and sniffer dogs have been placed to maintain peace in the region especially in the capital city.
As per the official, the route leading to Sher-e-Kashmir Stadium—where I-Day celebrations are scheduled—will be sealed on Saturday evening. The venue has been fortified with the deployment of paramilitary troops, new bunkers and barricades. The stadium is also being monitored with drones.
Talking to Kashmir Observer, JKBJP spokesman, Altaf Thakur said that this year’s Independence Day preparations have shown that Kashmiris are fed up with militancy and Pakistan.
“Whole of Kashmir is draped in the color of India. Even the areas which were once militancy dominated, are today flooded with Indian flags. In Kulgam, 15000 people marched with flags and the same was seen in other parts of the valley,” Thakur said, adding that it’s a big slap on the faces of National Conference and PDP.
“This is Naya Kashmir which is an integral part of India. During NC and PDP rule, only Pakistan’s flags were seen in Kashmir but today, you can see Kashmir flooded with Indian flags,” Thakur told Kashmir Observer.
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