PM Modi visits Ladakh with CDS Bipin Rawat, Army Chief to assess situation of LAC

Ladakh, July 03: Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat and Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane visited Leh, Ladakh to review the ongoing tensions along the India-China. This is the first visit by any leader since the brutal clash with Chinese soldiers in which 20 soldiers were martyred.

 

 

 

The Prime Minister arrived at Nimu this morning and interacted with Army, Air Force and ITBP personnel. He was briefed by senior officers at a forward position in Nimu. It is located at 11,000 feet which are among the tough terrains surrounded by Zanskar range and on the banks of the Indus.

 

According to the reports, he is supposed to meet the soldiers who were injured in the clashes, as well as the local military leadership, including Lt. General Harinder Singh, XIV Corps Commander who had held talks with his Chinese counterpart to discuss the disengagement at the faceoff sites along the LAC.

 

CDS General Rawat's visit holds importance since it comes in the wake of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh's visit to Ladakh being rescheduled. Earlier, it was reported that the Defence Minister was scheduled to visit Ladakh today to take stock of the situation here amid the ongoing standoff with China.

 

On June 25, the Army Chief had visited forward areas in Eastern Ladakh and reviewed the operational preparedness in the forward areas of this sector on his two-day visit to Ladakh.

 

The situation at the India-China border remains tense after 20 Indian soldiers were martyred and left several other soldiers injured in a violent clash with Chinese troops in the Galwan Valley region of eastern Ladakh between June 15 and 16 when Chinese troops attempted to unilaterally change the status quo during the de-escalation. Following the clash, India and China have been involved in talks to ease the ongoing border tensions since last month.