PM Narendra Modi, Army Chief celebrate Diwali in J&K's Gurez

Jammu: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday arrived in the Gurez Sector along the Line of Control (LoC) in North Kashmir’s Bandipora district to celebrate Diwali with the troops there.

According to ANI, the PM arrived here this morning to celebrate Diwali with the troops of 15 Corps in Gurez Sector. 

He was accompanied by Army chief General Bipin Rawat, Northern Command chief Lt General Devraj Anbu and Chinar Corps Commander Lt Gen J S Sandhu.

Addressing the troops, PM Modi said that the Union Govt is committed to welfare and betterment of armed forces in every way possible.

The PM also mentioned the implementation of OROP scheme by the Centre.

On a lighter note, PM Modi said that jawans who leave armed forces after completing their duty tenure can become excellent yoga trainers subsequently.

PM Modi, in J&K, said that jawans who leave Armed Forces after completing their duty tenure, can become excellent yoga trainers subsequently pic.twitter.com/QP6D2Uugbe — ANI (@ANI) October 19, 2017

This is the second time that Modi is celebrating Diwali with troops in Kashmir after he became the PM. His first visit was in 2014.

In 2016, the Modi had met the jawans of the Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), Indian Army and Dogra Scouts in Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh on Diwali. 

He had even launched a campaign named “Sandesh for Soldiers” to send Diwali greetings to those serving on India’s borders and prominent celebrities like film actors Aamir Khan and Akshay Kumar as well as several Union Ministers had participated in the campaign.

In 2015, the PM had celebrated Diwali with soldiers at the Dograi War Memorial in Khasa in Amritsar. 

In 2014, Modi paid a surprise visit to Siachen to celebrate Diwali with soldiers posted at the world’s highest battlefield and hailed the role of the armed forces in securing the country.

He also announced a Rs 570 crore package for Jammu and Kashmir, which had been hit by the worst floods in 100 years the same year.

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister is also scheduled to visit the Kedarnath Shrine in Uttarakhand on October 20 where he is expected to inaugurate the temple protection wall which will block 2013-like floods from hitting the shrine, sources added.