E-Paper
HP CM cancels visit to forward areas along China amid military standoff in Ladakh
The CM was scheduled to visit Sumdo, a strategic post between Lahaul-Spiti and Kinnaur, on June 6
Himachal Pradesh chief minister Jai Ram Thakur on Thursday cancelled his visit to frontier areas bordering China in Lahaul-Spiti and Kinnaur districts that was scheduled for Saturday (June 6).
The decision to cancel the visit comes against the backdrop of the continuing standoff between China and India in Ladakh.
The CM’s office in Shimla did not ascribe any reasons for the change in the chief minister’s schedule.
Thakur was scheduled to visit Sumdo, strategic post in Lahaul-Spiti. Sumdo lies between Lahaul-Spiti and Kinnaur districts and has a large military base.
The CM was to inspect developmental activities and welfare work in the border areas.
VIGIL STEPPED UP ALONG CHINESE BORDER
The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and Indian Army have stepped up vigil along the international border with China in Kinnaur and Lahaul-Spiti districts after Chinese choppers violated the Indian air space twice in April and then in the first week of May. Chinese choppers were spotted twice in Sumdo.
Himachal Pradesh shares 260 kilometers of porous border with China. The border areas are manned by the ITBP and Indian Army.
The Chinese army has constantly been strengthening its infrastructure along the international border in Himachal Pradesh though the region remained peaceful during the 1962 aggression.
After the boundary standoff between India and China in Ladakh and the eastern sector in Sikkim, armies from both countries have stepped up activity along the international border in Himachal Pradesh.
CROSS-BORDER TRADE SUSPENDED
This year, the annual cross-border trade between the two countries was put on hold due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the standoff between the troops.
Trade between the two countries usually starts in June and ends in November.
No trader has registered themselves for bilateral trade through the Shipki La that had reopened in 1993 after it was shut due to the Indo-China war in 1962.
Shipki La is a mountain pass that connects Kinnaur district to the China controlled Tibetan Autonomous Region. It’s through this pass that Sutlej river enters India.
