Amit Shah inaugurates troop welfare projects in Kathua

JAMMU: The second day of the visit of Union Home minister Amit Shah to Jammu also saw a halt at the Border Out Posts Gurnam and Bobiya, right along the India–Pakistan line.

It marked the Centre’s stress on border security, modernisation, and welfare of troops.

Shah started with paying homage at the Ajay Prahari memorial, placing flowers on the martyr’s memorial and planting a sapling at BOP Bobiya.

He also inaugurated welfare schemes amounting to Rs 7 crores for BSF personnel to include solar water heaters, solar power plants, and a newly constructed officers’ mess.

He laid the foundation of BSF infrastructure projects worth Rs 242 crores.

The event was attended by Jammu and Kashmir’s Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, the Union Home Secretary, the Director of the Intelligence Bureau, and the BSF Director General, along with other senior officials.

Addressing the BSF troops, Shah said his tours to forward posts in Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan and Kutch further cement his belief in the force’s discipline, dedication and discharge of duties.

He termed the BSF as the sentinels of the nation who remain vigilant day and night under inclement conditions, an embodiment of commitment and courage.

The Home minister recalled that every time India faced a border threat – be it a case of infiltration or intrusion – the BSF stood with a sense of determination, as an impenetrable wall. He singled out the force’s role in ‘Operation Sindoor’, or Operation Sindur, which added another luminous chapter to its six-decade history.

He noted that during this operation, the Jammu and Kashmir Frontier destroyed 118 Pakistani posts and three terrorist launch pads.

He also paid homage to Sub-Inspector Mohammad Imtiaz Ahmad and Constable Deepak Chingakham, who posthumously were awarded the Vir Chakra, besides 16 gallantry medals and a host of commendations awarded to the force.

Shah praised the BSF’s adaptability across varied terrains – from Manipur to the Maoist-affected regions of Odisha and Chhattisgarh – and highlighted its humanitarian work during natural disasters like floods in Punjab.