Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday visited Siachen to spend some time with soldiers on Diwali and convey the message there that every Indian stands shoulder-to-shoulder with them.
The chopper was inducted into service in March last year.
The officials said helicopters and drones were pressed into the service to help the forces, who are also using human and technical intelligence inputs to aid the search operation which has been launched to trace and neutralise the terrorists behind the attack.
The condition of Lance Naik Hanamanthappa Koppad, the Siachen braveheart who defied death for six days buried under snow, has deteriorated, the army said on Wednesday as a team of experts from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences joined in the efforts save his life.
India and China have implemented a pact on patrolling in Depsang and Demchok along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh, as per agreed modalities and timelines. The agreement was reached on October 21 and includes provisions for disengagement and patrolling in the last two friction points in the region. The pact has been effected and implemented as agreed, with both sides resuming patrolling activities and grazing, where applicable, as per longstanding practice before the friction began. The terms of the disengagement agreements reached prior to the latest pact continue to hold in relevant areas in eastern Ladakh. The agreement applies mutually to both sides and is without prejudice to India's positions on the LAC or boundary lines. India and China are each carrying out one round of patrolling in Depsang and Demchok, but they have maintained their deployment of troops along the LAC. The focus now is on de-escalation of the overall situation. The agreement was endorsed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in a meeting in Kazan, Russia, signaling attempts to normalize ties.
According to official date, the total volume of waste generated at the glacier is 236 tonnes.
At the glacier, Rajnath Singh would be briefed about the operations being conducted by the army, along with the support of air efforts by the Indian Air Force.
The defence minister conducted an aerial survey of northern glacier Siachen and interacted with troops at the base camp.
Six Indian soldiers were killed and one went missing in an avalanche in the Siachen Glacier area on Sunday. The avalanche struck an army post at Hanief sector in Turtuk, Siachen on Sunday at 6.15 am.
Major Surinder Singh seeks help from the defence minister, claiming that the trial against him is neither independent nor fair
A resident of village Betadur in Dharwad district of Karnataka, the Madras regiment soldier was pulled out alive from under 30 ft of ice-and-snow debris where he lay buried for six days on the unforgiving Siachen glacier.
India will not vacate the Siachen glaciers as Pakistan cannot be trusted and it may occupy the strategic location once it is vacated, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said today.
'Their failure to take Siachen is an embarrassment to the Pakistan army -- and let them live with it. Our army's shoulders are broad enough to endure the challenge.'
Dhruv and LUH helicopters must supply provisions to, and evacuate casualties from Siachen Glacier posts like Sonam, which, at 20,997 feet, is the highest inhabited spot on the planet.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi may soon visit Indian army's forward posts in the Siachen glacier, the highest battlefield in the world, during his tour of Ladakh.
Pakistan Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri has said opening the Siachen glacier for tourist trekking can affect the composite dialogue process between India and Pakistan.
India and Pakistan on Tuesday inched forward in their talks on Siachen saying it has enhanced understanding of each other's position and agreed to continue the discussions in a meaningful and result-oriented manner.
India and Pakistan on Monday discussed demilitarisation of Siachen, a mountainous region where borderline is not demarcated, in a "constructive framework", picking up the threads of the issue after a gap of three years.
There can be forward movement on the Siachen issue if Pakistan is willing to authenticate current troop positions on the glacier, Defence Minister A K Antony said
The chopper has been validated for high-altitude, low temperature flying, required to maintain the supply lines for the Siachen region
The pilots, identified as Squadron Leader S Basu and Flight Lieutenant A Sharma, are missing.
During the visit, she reviewed the security situation in the border region and inaugurated a bridge that will link Leh to Karakoram, providing connectivity on the strategically important Darbuk-Shyok-Daulat Beg Olde axis for military transport.
But Pakistan might not authenticate India's troop positions in the glacier.
Amidst alarmist rumours that track-two parleys between India and Pakistan are urging India to 'give up Siachen', Myra MacDonald tells Shivam Vij in an e-mail interview why resolving Siachen without resolving the Jammu and Kashmir dispute may not be easy.
Havildar Amit Kumar has overcome a career-threatening shoulder injury, an unforgiving two years in the Line of Control at Siachen Glacier and a terrible train robbery to represent India at the Asian Games.
A broad consensus has been achieved by India and China on restoring the 'ground situation' along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) pursuant to talks, including for patrolling and grazing cattle in the traditional areas, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Thursday.
On April 13, 1984 the Indian Army launched a daring operation at Siachen, the world's highest battlefield, to gain control over the glacier in the eastern Karakoram range in the Himalayas. In the days to follow, Operation Meghdoot -- named after Kalidas's Sanskrit masterpiece -- secured the glacier and adjoining heights from Pakistani aggression. This operation has continued over the last 30 years with Pakistan making numerous failed attempts to dislodge the Indians from the Saltoro ridge along the western periphery of the glacier. Nitin Gokhale's book, Beyond NJ 9842: The Siachen Saga is the first of its kind, narrating the history of Operation Meghdoot. Rediff.com presents exclusive excerpts from the book.
The Nation quoted Kasuri as saying in Islamabad that Pakistan welcomed the statement by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to make Siachen 'a mountain of peace'.
India and Pakistan have agreed to hold meaningful and result-oriented discussion to demilitarise the Siachen glacier region where 26 soldiers died during deployment last year, the government told the Lok Sabha on Monday.
The atmosphere at the funeral was highly emotional with friends, relatives and locals bidding tearful farewell.
The strategic advantage accruing to India in Siachen should not be given up for apparent short-term political gains. Giving up Siachen as a gesture of friendship would also mean that its recapture would be extremely expensive to India in men and material, says Vikram Sood.
Dr Singh announced that two home theatres and a CT scan facility will soon be provided in Siachen.
The Supreme Court of India has ordered the Union government to grant a permanent commission to a woman officer in the Army Dental Corps who was denied benefits given to similarly placed officers. The court ruled that the woman officer was wrongly excluded from consideration and that the principle of "what is sauce for the goose ought to be sauce for the gander" applies in this case. The court directed the government to implement the order within four weeks and to extend all consequential benefits, including seniority, promotion, and monetary benefits, to the officer.
Ahead of its key talks with India on the Siachen issue, Pakistan has claimed that the biggest hurdle in resolving the military standoff on the world's highest battlefield are the armies of the two countries.
An army pilot was killed and another injured on Wednesday when the Cheetah helicopter they were flying crashed on the Siachen glacier, the world's highest battlefield. The crash occurred at 11.45 am near Bhim post of the army in Siachen glacier, in which one of the pilots died and another was injured, an army spokesperson said.
Notwithstanding Pakistan's vociferous protests, the Indian army on Wednesday launched a civilian mountaineering and trekking expedition to the forbidding Siachen Glacier for the second year in a row.The 21-day expedition is meant to show to the international community that Indian troops hold the 72-km-long Siachen Glacier in the Saltoro Ridge region of Jammu and Kashmir, and Pakistan was nowhere near it.
In view of the heightening tension with Pakistan, the central government on Tuesday rushed Army chief General Deepak Kapoor to Siachen Glacier and forward areas of Jammu and Kashmir to check the operational preparedness of the troops. He will be there for a day to interact with unit commanders and senior officers before returning to New Delhi after taking stock of the situation.
