LEH: Northern Army Commander Lieutenant General Upendra Dwivedi visited forward areas of Ladakh and reviewed the operational preparedness of troops stationed there.
The visit assumes greater significance as it has come amid the heightened tensions along Ladakh’s borders with China and Pakistan.
“Lieutenant General Upendra Dwivedi, GOC-in-C, Northern Command has visited the forward areas of Ladakh where he reviewed the operational preparedness of troops and exhorted them to strive for excellence,” said the Indian Army on Wednesday.
An Army official said that the Northern Army Commander reviewed operational situation in Northern Sub Sector in Ladakh
“Lt Gen Dwivedi also exhorted the vital contributions of troops stationed at Line of Actual Control in strengthening India’s border defence,” he added.
Highlighting the extremely challenging conditions for the Northern borders, Lieutenant General Upendra Dwivedi reiterated that the Indian army was always prepared to meet any challenge.
“The Indian Army has never spared any effort in ensuring a peaceful internal security situation and the integrity of our national borders, and will continue to uphold this,” said the Northern Army Commander.
During his visit, LtGeneral Dwivedi also interacted with Indo-Tibetan Border Police
(ITBP)and Border Roads Organisation (BRO) personnel in forward areas at Line of Actual Control.
The Northern Army Commander commended their exemplary work and devotion to duty in India’s border defence and infrastructure development.
“While interacting with the troops, LtGeneral Dwivedi said that while Border Roads Organisation is making border areas more accessible for the Indian Army, the vigil by the Indo-Tibetan Border Police on the northern borders is preventing border violations and trans-border smuggling and crimes,” said the Army official.
The visit of Northern Army Commander has come at a time when the union government has decided to pace up the infrastructure projects along the border with China in Ladakh, and other places along the northern border areas.
On Tuesday, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had chaired a high-level meeting in this regard which was attended by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan, Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari, Chief of the Army Staff General Manoj Pande, Defence Secretary GiridharAramane and Ladakh Lieutenant Governor Brigadier B D Mishra among other senior ministers.
The concerned officials were directed to take up the projects in Ladakh at the top priority for their early completion in view of the heightened tension with China along the Line of Actual Control.
Earlier this week, Chinese President Xi Jinping vowed to build China’s military into a “Great Wall of steel” to protect the its sovereignty and developmental interests. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA)’s annual report for 2022, released on Monday had said that India’s engagement with China was complex and Chinese attempts to unilaterally alter the status quo along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh starting from April-May 2020 seriously disturbed the peace and tranquility in border areas and impacted overall ties.
The eastern Ladakh border row erupted on May 5, 2020, following a violent clash in the Pangong lake area. The ties between the two countries nosedived significantly following the fierce clash in the Galwan Valley in June 2020 that marked the most serious military conflict between the two sides in decades.
The Chinese attempts, it may be mentioned, were invariably met with an appropriate response from Indian armed forces in Ladakh, as well as in other parts of the country along the border with China.
