Kashmir gears up for ” Ekta Yatra” at Lal Chowk

The Omar Abdullah government in Jammu and Kashmir is geared up with state forces to maintain law and order on the Republic Day as the Director General of Police held a major meeting to review the security arrangements.

Apprehension is rampart in Srinagar over Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s ” Ekta Yatra” at Lal Chowk and the separatists have called for a counter-march on Jan 26.

“It is ample clear we will not allow anybody to vitiate the atmosphere,” Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said, and ordered the administration to maintain fool-proof security across the state on Jan 26.

State DGP Kuldip Khoda on Friday chaired the meeting with senior officers from civil administration, Police, Army and security forces to review the Republic Day’s security arrangement.

The DGP laid stress on maintaining strict vigil and caution to thwart the evil designs of anti-national elements, so as to ensure an incident free Republic Day throughout the state. He also underlined for close coordination among all security agencies to ensure peaceful celebration of the functions, causing least inconvenience to the common people.

The BJP’s youth workers are on their way from West Bengal to Jammu and Kashmir. They plan to end their march at Lal Chowk, where, in 1948, Jawaharlal Nehru promised Kashmir a plebiscite. The BJP is determined to hoist the tricolor at Lal Chowk here to prove Kashmir is an integral part of India.

The BJP yatris plan to enter the state on Jan 25 from the border town of Lakhanpur in Jammu. They will then head towards Srinagar.

But the government is determined not to allow the BJP march to get in the state.

“It’s a sensitive area, and I feel any small incident can trigger other actions. So we should be careful about it,” Northern Army Commander K T Parnaik said.

The government has invited the BJP to attend the official state function at the Bakshi stadium.