Bad weather cuts short army chief's visit to J-K

Bad weather conditions today forced new Army Chief Gen Bipin Rawat to end his 3-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir on the second day.
Gen Rawat visited forward areas in Akhnoor sector in Jammu district this morning, army sources said.
Due to extreme weather conditions in Kashmir and Ladakh region, he skipped his visit to those areas and flew back to New Delhi, the sources said.
On his maiden visit to Jammu and Kashmir after taking charge, Gen Rawat yesterday reviewed the security situation and favoured a dynamic strategy to handle the "proxy war".
Rawat commended the soldiers for "strongly reciprocating to the unprovoked ceasefire violations by Pakistan".

The army chief had begun his day tour by visiting the Udhampur-based Northern Command where he was briefed by Lt Gen Devraj Anbu.

"The army chief chief reviewed the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir and also operational preparedness of Northern Command at a high-level meeting," officials said.
General Rawat lauded the role of the Northern Command in restoring peace and normalcy during the recent unrest, they said.
"We need to evolve a dynamic strategy to handle the proxy war and defeat enemy's nefarious designs in Jammu and Kashmir," the army chief said.
Gen Rawat also flew yesterday to 16 Corps headquarters based in Nagrota and visited some forward areas in Akhnoor and Rajouri sectors where he interacted with troops. Praising the soldiers for responding effectively to ceasefire violations,the army chief has said, "Every soldier of our army plays an important role towards security of the nation because it is the contribution of every soldier that makes the army efficient and strong."

Northern command looks after the operational command of Jammu and Kashmir and Line of Control (LoC), Actual Ground Position Level (AGPL) with Pakistan and Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China in Ladakh.
General Rawat was slated to visit Srinagar-based 15 Corps headquarters and forward areas in Kupwara, counter insurgency formation in Anantnag besides 14 Corps in Leh and Siachen Glacier sector during his tour.
He was also scheduled to be visit formations at Kupwara and Anantnag.
Gen Rawat took charge on December 31, succeeding Gen Dalbir Singh Suhag, who retired after 42 years of service.