Indian Army is forced to send soldiers long distances to other states

Thousands of men in fatigues can be seen swarming into the Jammu Tawi railway station these days. These soldiers are not there to counter any fresh terrorist threats or challenges of infiltration up north, but to board special trains bound for Madhya Pradesh or Rajasthan where they will get to practise firing.

With the Mufti Mohammad Sayeedheaded Jammu & Kashmir government dragging its feet on renotifying the lease of firing ranges, the Indian Army is forced to send the soldiers long distances to other states. According to senior officers, this has an adverse impact on India’s preparedness along the borders.

There are ten firing ranges in J& K, but the PDP-BJP government has refused to renotify all the leases that have lapsed in the past one year. As a result, the northern command, which has the largest number of troops in the country, is sending hundreds of units from live borders to faraway states for annual firing practice.

The troops are away from their stations for more than a month as the units are being sent to the ranges of Babina and Mahajan in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan respectively, by a combination of rail and roads. J&K chief secretary Iqbal Khanday said the delay was procedural.

“Each firing range in the state is being looked at separately. The cases are at different stages.”

The firing ranges leased to the army are Khurbathang, Tartar, Mahe and Kulum in the Ladakh region, Kalith, Chorkhud, Jhallas Rajouri and Garhi in the Jammu region and Tosamaidan in the Kashmir region. Khurbathang, Kalith and Tosamaidan are the three main ranges for the firing of artillery and high calibre weapons.

For Tosamaidan firing range, Khanday said a committee was formed under his chairmanship but it is yet to decide on the matter. In Ladakh, the army has already specified a different location as the current firing range extended to sensitive wildlife areas.

“We are also holding public hearings in Jammu region to know about the opinion of locals regarding firing ranges,” the chief secretary said. Senior officers said the defence ministry has also taken up the matter with the state government.

Source from India Defence News.