Republic Day: Security Heightened In Srinagar
By Swatilekha Paul, Gaea News NetworkMonday, January 24, 2011
SRINAGAR, INDIA (GaeaTimes.com)- With the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) planning to march to Srinagar to hoist the national flag on the occasion of Republic Day and the separatist groups pledging to oppose it, the tension in the Jammu & Kashmir capital on the day is expected to be high. Security officials in the state are taking necessary steps to foil any acts of terrorism by the militants outfits ahead of the Republic day celebrations scheduled to take place on Wednesday.
According to authorities, the state has been put under high alert after sources in intelligence agencies have revealed that few militant groups are likely to carry out terrorist acts to disrupt the celebrations of Republic Day. The terrorist outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba is reported to have been planning attacks on various parts of the state using car bombs and other explosive devices especially in the capital of Srinagar. The state government has deployed extensive numbers of paramilitary forces in Bakshi Stadium in Srinagar, the venue where the Republic Day celebrations would be held later this week.
The Republic Day functions in Jammu & Kashmir has attracted wide attention this year owing to the ‘Rashtriya Ekta Yatra’ that is planned to be held by the BJP on the occasion. The youth wing of the saffron party, Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha has made the announcement that they would be going ahead with the march which would later culminate in the hoisting of the national flag at the sensitive area of Lal Chowk on Republic Day. Police officials have said that the border between the state and Punjab has been sealed off to prevent the BJP activists from going ahead with the march and entering the state.
