Security heightened in Jammu and Kashmir on eve of PM Modi’s visit

Srinagar: On the eve of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s one-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir, security was heightened across the Union Territory (UT) on Monday.

Modi is scheduled to address a public rally at Maulana Azad Stadium in Jammu on Tuesday besides inaugurating and laying foundation stones of projects worth over Rs 30,500 crore in the UT during his visit.

Ahead of the high profile visit, security forces have been put on an alert with random checking of vehicles being conducted in Srinagar and other areas of Kashmir valley, officials said. Special checking points, including entry and exit points have been set up at various places in Srinagar and Jammu cities as a precautionary measure.

Besides upgrading vigil on the borders, the security forces are patrolling the highways and other vulnerable spots, from the security point of view, a police officer said. Although the prime minister will only be visiting the Jammu region, the security forces in the valley have been put on an alert to ensure that terrorists do not carry out any subversive activities in Kashmir during the high-profile visit to make news.

This will be Modi's only second visit to Jammu and Kashmir during his second term in office. In his first term (2014-2019), the Prime Minister had made several visits to the border state.

For the residents of Kashmir, the heightened security measures evoked a mix of emotions—hope and fear. Hope, that perhaps the visit would herald a new dawn of peace and prosperity; fear, of the specter of unrest that often shadowed such high-profile events.