12-05-2005, 05:02 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Post quake, terror firma shakes with more ammo </b>
Pioneer.com
Rahul Datta/ New Delhi
Since the earthquake on October 8 devastated areas around the Line of Control (LoC), Pakistan-based terrorists have managed to smuggle in arms and ammunition in a big way into Jammu and Kashmir. This stockpile is feared to be the biggest since India and Pakistan agreed to a ceasefire in November 2003.
Taking advantage of the thin presence of the Army on the LoC after the earthquake,<b> the militants managed to infiltrate into the State along with sophisticated automatic weapons including AK-47 rifles and light machine guns. It was also suspected that a couple of rocket launchers and sophisticated communication systems figured in this inventory, the Army's Northern Command said in its latest situation assessment report.</b>
The report, which was submitted to the Ministry of Defence earlier this week, expressed the apprehension that the inflow of such a stock of weapons and ammunition could be the biggest ever in the last two years since the ceasefire on the LoC.
Moreover, the last two months also <b>saw an increase in infiltration from Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK) and this figure was also double the number of infiltrations in the last two years,</b> sources said here on Sunday, adding that in the past the figure stood at ten to 15.
Before the earthquake, sources said the security forces had managed to cut off this supply line by bringing down the rate of infiltration, blocking the ingress routes and smashing the infrastructure within the State.
Smaller groups, which managed to sneak in, preferred to carry personal weapons and in many cases came without them. Their local contacts in Kashmir provided them with weapons but this too had declined due to sustained pressure from security forces, sources said.
Elaborating upon the situation on the LoC after the earthquake, sources said the Army was now working on a war footing to repair its fighting and living bunkers in the Uri and Tangdhar regions. The fighting bunkers are located on the LoC but the living bunkers are some distance away. Unfortunately most of the bunkers were flattened in the earthquake.
Reports indicated that more than 100 kms of the 750-km long anti-infiltration fence along the 750-km long LoC was badly damaged. The fence had helped security forces bring down the rate of infiltration by 75 per cent in the last one year. While the Army was busy rehabilitating the civilians and rebuilding its damaged infrastructure, terrorists exploited the situation, sources said.
<b>Now Army engineers are building steel lined permanent defences (SLPD) on the LoC at a cost of more than Rs 100 crores. The SLPDS have been used in the last few years to withstand a direct hit from artillery fire and heavy shells thereby protecting the lives of soldiers manning these fighting bunkers</b>, explained sources.
Unfortunately the SLPDS and living bunkers are located in remote areas and the local workforce, which used to ferry the building material from the nearest roadhead, was not available, sources said.
The reason for this paucity of manpower was that most porters had also been badly hit by the earthquake leaving the soldiers manning the posts to ferry the material. This has forced the Army to stretch its manpower to the limit thereby hampering the operational role of the units at the LoC.
<b>The Army has also decided to go in for pre-fabricated huts to house the soldiers as an ad-hoc arrangement. The huts, however, were proving to be inadequate given the extreme weather conditions and snow in the upper mountain reaches, </b>sources said. <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Pioneer.com
Rahul Datta/ New Delhi
Since the earthquake on October 8 devastated areas around the Line of Control (LoC), Pakistan-based terrorists have managed to smuggle in arms and ammunition in a big way into Jammu and Kashmir. This stockpile is feared to be the biggest since India and Pakistan agreed to a ceasefire in November 2003.
Taking advantage of the thin presence of the Army on the LoC after the earthquake,<b> the militants managed to infiltrate into the State along with sophisticated automatic weapons including AK-47 rifles and light machine guns. It was also suspected that a couple of rocket launchers and sophisticated communication systems figured in this inventory, the Army's Northern Command said in its latest situation assessment report.</b>
The report, which was submitted to the Ministry of Defence earlier this week, expressed the apprehension that the inflow of such a stock of weapons and ammunition could be the biggest ever in the last two years since the ceasefire on the LoC.
Moreover, the last two months also <b>saw an increase in infiltration from Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK) and this figure was also double the number of infiltrations in the last two years,</b> sources said here on Sunday, adding that in the past the figure stood at ten to 15.
Before the earthquake, sources said the security forces had managed to cut off this supply line by bringing down the rate of infiltration, blocking the ingress routes and smashing the infrastructure within the State.
Smaller groups, which managed to sneak in, preferred to carry personal weapons and in many cases came without them. Their local contacts in Kashmir provided them with weapons but this too had declined due to sustained pressure from security forces, sources said.
Elaborating upon the situation on the LoC after the earthquake, sources said the Army was now working on a war footing to repair its fighting and living bunkers in the Uri and Tangdhar regions. The fighting bunkers are located on the LoC but the living bunkers are some distance away. Unfortunately most of the bunkers were flattened in the earthquake.
Reports indicated that more than 100 kms of the 750-km long anti-infiltration fence along the 750-km long LoC was badly damaged. The fence had helped security forces bring down the rate of infiltration by 75 per cent in the last one year. While the Army was busy rehabilitating the civilians and rebuilding its damaged infrastructure, terrorists exploited the situation, sources said.
<b>Now Army engineers are building steel lined permanent defences (SLPD) on the LoC at a cost of more than Rs 100 crores. The SLPDS have been used in the last few years to withstand a direct hit from artillery fire and heavy shells thereby protecting the lives of soldiers manning these fighting bunkers</b>, explained sources.
Unfortunately the SLPDS and living bunkers are located in remote areas and the local workforce, which used to ferry the building material from the nearest roadhead, was not available, sources said.
The reason for this paucity of manpower was that most porters had also been badly hit by the earthquake leaving the soldiers manning the posts to ferry the material. This has forced the Army to stretch its manpower to the limit thereby hampering the operational role of the units at the LoC.
<b>The Army has also decided to go in for pre-fabricated huts to house the soldiers as an ad-hoc arrangement. The huts, however, were proving to be inadequate given the extreme weather conditions and snow in the upper mountain reaches, </b>sources said. <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->