Jammu, Jul 18:
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is likely undertake a day-long visit to Jammu and Kashmir on July 20, during which he will pay tributes at the Kargil war memorial at Drass and inaugurate two bridge projects in Jammu, officials said Thursday. Singh will visit all three regions of Kashmir, Jammu and Ladakh during the visit and review the security situation along the Line of Control (LoC) in the Valley and the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh, besides hinterland operations, they said. Singh will fly from New Delhi to Srinagar on Saturday, the officials said, adding that he will be accompanied by Army Chief General Bipin Rawat. The defence minister will later fly to Drass in Ladakh where he is scheduled to visit the war memorial. From there, he is scheduled to fly to Jammu, where he will inaugurate two major bridges on the rivers Uhj and Basantar in Kathua and Samba districts, they said. This is Singh’s first visit to Jammu after taking over the new defence minister. He had earlier visited Kashmir and Ladakh regions on June 3. In his first trip as defence minister, Rajnath Singh had visited the Siachen glacier – the world’s most dangerous battlefield – where he met the soldiers guarding the border above altitudes of 12,000 feet. Singh, accompanied by Army Chief Gen. Rawat, had also visited the headquarters of the Army’s 14 Corps in Leh and 15 Corps in Srinagar.
