Army deployed in Kashmir ahead of PM's visit

The United Progressive Alliance government has ordered the redeployment of troops in Jammu and Kashmir to plug gaps in security along the border and the Line of Control. According to a television report, the move is being seen as a confidence building measure ahead of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to the state later this month.

It maybe recalled that during a visit to the state last week, Union Home Minister P Chidambaram had said that the Jammu and Kashmir police would be at the forefront in the fight against militancy and that army would be deployed on the LoC. The army has redeployed two battalions of Rashtriya Rifles from north and south Kashmir in the Doda region of Jammu. The prime minister, who was scheduled to visit the state on October 18 to inaugurate a 12-km railway line connecting Anantnag and Qazigund, had postponed the trip because of the non-availability of Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee.

Singh, who is expected to tour the state for two days, is now likely to be there on October 27. During his visit, he is expected to review the railway project connecting the Kashmir Valley with Jammu region. He may also review the Dal project besides progress in other developmental schemes under the Prime Minister's Reconstruction Plan. The Prime Minister had inaugurated the 66-km long section from Anantnag to Mazhom last year. Congress President Sonia Gandhi had earlier this year inaugurated the 35-km-long Mazhom-Baramulla line, part of the 119-Km Qazigund-Baramulla railway line.