PM may spend Deepavali with troops on China border

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who prefers to spend Deepavali with troops on the border, is likely to spend time with the army and Indian-Tibetan Border Police soldiers at the China border in Uttarakhand for this year's festival of lights.

He may also visit the Kedarnath shrine on October 20, where he would inaugurate a protection wall that is to block any 2013-like floods from hitting the shrine, officials said.

Last Deepavali, Modi had spent time with soldiers in a remote village near the China border in Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh.

After assuming office in 2014, Modi had celebrated his first Deepavali with soldiers in Siachen. He also made it a point to be in Srinagar before his visit to Siachen to show solidarity with the flood victims in Jammu and Kashmir.

In 2015, he had gone to meet soliders at the India-Pakistan border in Punjab.

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will spend Deepavali with soldiers in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, it was officially announced. It will be her maiden visit to the Andaman and Nicobar Command after taking charge last month.

She will celebrate the festival with troops and interact with their families and also visit the operational area of the Command and Air Force Station Car Nicobar.