Finally the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) will take over the control of opening of roads on Jammu-Srinagar national highway-1A on Friday from army - for the first time in 20 years.
The move has come to reduce the visibility of army so that they could focus on the counter-terrorism.
During unified command meeting in Jammu on Tuesday, Defence minister A.K. Antony gave instruction that army would be freed from maintaining the opening of roads on Jammu-Srinagar national highway and CRPF will take over the control.
Army was involved in this process for past 20 years when the armed insurgency breakout in the state in 1989 and government had to call army to as counter insurgency tool. Now, in present the main focus of army is to counter terrorism and minimise the role of army in other local issues of the state.
Firstly army was freed from maintaining the security of cities and now putting CRPF in opening of roads replacing army is considered to be a good move to minimise the load of army in the state.
This move of government has proved the point that security situation in the state has improved and now it is the responsibility of police force to take the control.
{{/usCountry}}This move of government has proved the point that security situation in the state has improved and now it is the responsibility of police force to take the control.
{{/usCountry}}During the unified command meeting, Antony said that with the improvement in the security situation, time has now come for the state police to be given far greater responsibility, particularly in major towns in tackling the threat of terrorism in the state. However, 'the handing over of the responsibility must be meticulously planned and undertaken in a gradual, phased manner', he said.