Rejuvenation of VDC’s will be a good move To kill PAK’s Evil Designs
Romeo Force of Rashtriya Rifles commanded by then Major General Hardev Singh Lidder a virtually broken the back of the Pakistan sponsored terrorism through his Operation SARP VINASH, in the Rajouri – Poonch Sector of Jammu and Kashmir. 9 Special Forces, a unit which General Lidder had commanded in Sri Lanka had played a very major role in that operation.
Initially it was a Village Defence Committee in Kulali village near Hill Kaka which had reported the terrorist activity in the area, where Operation “Sarp Vinash” was carried out by the Army in 2003. The VDC had played a significant role in helping the SF in eliminating the terrorists. The Army spearheaded by the Special Forces had killed over 60 terrorists in the operation. Paratrooper Sanjog Chhetri of 9 SF was awarded a Ashok Chakra for this operation.
VDCs were created in the mid-1990s to combat Pakistan-sponsored terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir. Though the VDCs remain indispensable even after more than two decades of their inception, things got neglected overwhelming years, when terrorism started waning. The VDCs were set up in the mid-1990s with an aim to strengthen the security of people living in remote and mountainous areas of Doda, Kishtwar, Ramban, Rajouri, Reasi, Kathua, and Poonch districts of the Jammu region. Later VDCs were constituted in plains of Jammu, especially in border villages to check infiltration.
As per the official data, there are 4,125 VDCs in the Union Territory (UT) and the Army and Police train them from time to time in weapons-handling and intelligence-gathering skills. There are five members in a VDC and two of its members, which are called SPOs, are getting wages at the rate of Rs 18,000 per month.
The members of these committees not only guard the identified villages along the border, but also the infrastructural installations in and around them.
Now once again both Pakistan and its sponsored terrorists are making desperate attempts to revive their activities in Srinagar Valley and in the remotest hilly areas of Jammu province. Therefore as a first step the Jammu and Kashmir Govt must rejuvenate the virtually ‘defunct’ Village Defence Committees (VDCs) to frustrate evil designs of anti-national forces.
Camps must be organized in earnest to give refresher weapons and other training to VDC members. Such camp was organized in Reasi recently in which nearly 6000 VDC members, including 20 women of district Reasi had participated. All VDCs must be provided quick means of communication with nearest military and Police Forces. A stich in time can reduce the load on 9.
