Eleven unexploded shells were disarmed by the army's bomb disposal squad in a forward town in the Kargil district of Ladakh, authorities said on Saturday.
The unit led by the Sappers of Forever in the Operations Division distinguished the weapons during a cleaning drive in the Kurbathang region, authorities said.
“11 UXOs diffused by BD Team of Indian Army led by Sappers of Forever in Operations Division,” a statement said.
The drive was directed in close coordination with Tehsildar, Kargil, and Sarpanch, Pashkum, and the unexploded weapons were securely disarmed by the explosive removal crew, they said.
Earlier in April, the Sappers of Forever in the Operations division had obliterated seven explosives found close to the new Astro Turf ground following the death of a 13-year-old kid in a landmine blast. In the same incident, two additional boys were injured.
Then, Brig (Retd) B. D. Mishra, Lt. Governor of Ladakh, assured the people that the scattered shells, which posed a threat to their lives, would gradually be removed from the Kargil villages.
Mishra's comments came after the public complained about the army firing range's large number of unexploded shells and the 1999 Kargil war in Kurbathang and other areas.
"The whole area will be sanitised. An operation will be launched immediately to look for the blinds and other dangerous ordnance which will be cleared in a time-bound manner," the Lt Governor had told reporters at a Kargil hospital where he had gone to inquire about the condition of two boys injured in the blast.
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