Army hands over 37 acres of demined farmland to villagers

Army today handed over about 37 acres of demined farmland to the villagers in the Akhnoor belt along the Line of Control (LoC) in the Jammu district.
The possession of the land, that was used by Army to lay minefields during the operation Vijay of 1999, was handed over to the farmers along the Line of Control.
The handing over of the farmland ceremony was presided over by the General officer in Command (GOC)of the 10 division, Maj Gen Kulpreet Singh and the Deputy Commissioner Jammu Simrandeep Singh besides several senior officers of the Army and civil administration.
"The people of Jammu and Kashmir have always been extending their unflinching support to the army and have always worked shoulder to shoulder to ensure the security and sanctity of the state", Maj Gen Kulpreet Singh said while addressing the people at the occasion.

"During operation Vijay, keeping in line with the traditions of the region, the border villagers of Akhnoor had contributed certain piece of their farmland for the security of the region for laying of mines. The land which was their only means of livelihood was handed over to the army with a lot of humility and patriotic feelings in 1999", he added.
He said that the army has taken up the issue of providing compensation to the farmers whose land has been taken for laying the minefields with the relevant authorities.
"We are hopeful that the issue of providing these farmers with compensation would soon be resolved", he said.