GK NEWS
Jammu, Sep 13: General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C) Northern Command Lieutenant General Upendra Dwivedi Wednesday reiterated that Pakistan was desperately trying to send foreign terrorists to disturb peace and obstruct progress in J&K.
But the armed forces were also determined to frustrate its designs, he said.
Lt Gen Dwivedi was interacting with the media on the concluding day of North-Tech Symposium-2023 at IIT Jammu campus.
“Signifying aspect underlying this development is that Pak is making its all-out efforts to send foreign terrorists to this side (in India) so as to create internal strife and thus disturb improving security situation here to give vent to its frustration. It is not able to digest the way J&K is progressing. If you only look at the tourist footfall in 2022, 1.88 Cr tourists visited J&K and this year, we are anticipating this number to rise to 2.25 Cr. Frustrated over it, Pak is hell-bent to hinder this process. But we are also equally resolute in our determination not to allow it to succeed in its evil designs,” he said, while responding to a query pertaining to the recent spurt in terror incidents in J&K, particularly in Jammu region, which was seeing a revival of terrorism.
When asked about security situation in Rajouri, Poonch districts, Lt Gen Dwivedi said, “See, last time also I had told you that Poonch-Rajouri is such an area where we had tried to eliminate (infiltrating) foreign terrorists on the Line of Control (LoC) itself.”
“However, there are certain terrorists, who manage to gain entry here (border districts) after they would have sneaked in (through borders) from some other places outside J&K, with the sole objective to create trouble here or indulge in terror activities. For instance, as you would have witnessed in the recent incident (anti-terrorist operation), where one of our valiant soldiers too attained martyrdom, we attained great success about which you would be briefed by the Brigade Commander there (in Kalakote, Rajouri),” GOC-in-C Northern Command said, while referring to Rajouri operation where in two foreign (suspected to be Pakistani) terrorists were killed in the last two days. Operation was called off today after the elimination of the second trapped terrorist.
With regard to a query about the loss of army canine Kent in Rajouri encounter, while saving her handler, Lt Gen Dwivedi said, “This is the biggest thing whether it is a human being or an animal, delineating our close-bond and affability. The soldierly spirit of camaraderie prevails over everything else. An exemplary display of this was there in the valiant act of Kent, who ensured the safety of her handler to the last breath of her life by leading the column of soldiers; attacked the terrorists and finally made a supreme sacrifice in the best traditions of the army.”
When asked to sum up the major gains achieved through North Tech Symposium-2023, he said, “For the past several days, it was being contemplated that there should be an interface to acquaint people about the activities of Indian army and simultaneously we could come to know as to what extent the (defence) industry had grown and qualified (in research and development) and how much success our researchers and academia had earned in their innovative pursuits.”
“This is heartening that the trio (army, defence manufacturing industry and academia) has collaborated for a wonderful cause; taken steps for innovative ventures and participated in joint deliberations. This synergised pragmatic collaboration will show its results in the days to come and help us take a giant leap, infusing troika’s synergised impact,” Lt Gen Dwivedi elaborated.
Earlier, on the concluding day of the Symposium, in a major felicitation ceremony GOC-in-C Northern Command; Director, IIT Jammu Manoj Singh Gaur and Director General SIDM India Sunil Misra felicitated the students of IIT for their innovations as well as the industry representative of large cap MSME and startups for their overwhelming participation.
In a unique and iconic moment, Indian Army officers, JCOs and other ranks were also felicitated for their praiseworthy innovations augmenting ‘Atma Nirbharta’ (self-reliance) by the GOC-in-C.
Lt Gen Dwivedi appreciated the overall efforts of all stakeholders for making the event a resounding success. He praised the display of cutting-edge technology and newly fostered innovation. He lauded the brilliant minds, speakers, organizers and industry representatives of large cap, MSME and startups who made this possible.
In an official statement, PRO Defence Lt Col Suneel Bartwal said, “Building on to the resounding success and momentum of the first two days of the North Tech Symposium 2023, it (Symposium) became a major source of attraction to the attending masses to include students and also working professionals. Thousands of people witnessed it at the iconic location of Jammu.”
“The three days Symposium aimed to equip the defence forces with niche technologies saw the representatives of Indian army, academia and Indian defence manufacturers coming together under a single umbrella all working towards the ultimate goal of taking Atma Nirbharta to the next level,” he said.
According to him, the Symposium was also backed by a technical seminar held at Nagrota that gave an opportunity to analyse and assimilate the user and operational requirements and to identify and map these with suitable solutions and products from the academia and the industry. “The forum furthered the quest of Northern Command to meet requirements through a multipronged approach by bringing the Indian army, defence Industry and academia to a common platform for addressing the present and paving the way for the future,” PRO Defence said.
“Dhruva Command thanked all who joined the Symposium at IIT Jammu and helped in pushing the boundaries of technology for a brighter future, synergizing research, development and innovation for modernizing Indian armed forces,” he added.
