JAMMU – Indian authorities are worried that Jammu city, once immune frominsurgency, is losing its peaceful tag.
Anti-India slogans like Go India Go Back, which hitherto were limited toKashmir, are now visible on Jammu walls. A deserted building in LakkarMandi area of the city, close to the military station, still has traces ofanti-national slogans which were later erased by the local police.
The building might have been used by the militants to do a recce beforeattacking the military camp.
The fence near the camp’s family quarters is poorly managed at many placesand roofing tin is being used to cover the gaps in the boundary. Thesecurity agencies are now trying to figure out whether the militants jumpedfrom the roof of illegal structures mushrooming near the military camp toenter it.
Flouting all rules
Works of Defence Act (WDA),1903, under which construction activities havebeen prohibited up to 100 metres from an army establishment, has openlybeen flouted under the nose of army authorities in Jammu.
Dozens of structures not only touch the walls of army watch towers andfence but also have been raised above the wall. There are many securitybreaches near the junior commissioned officers’ (JCO) and non-commissionedofficers'(NCO) family quarters in Sunjwan station which may have been usedby the militants to enter the highly sensitive zone.
Even old structures require a no-objection certificate from the localgeneral officer commanding before starting repairs. Dozens of underconstruction or newly built structures where violations have been made areopenly visible.
Hundreds of acres of government land have been encroached upon near andaround the military station.