Defence Minister Rajnath Singhm who was earlier scheduled to visit the Siachen area, the world’s highest battlefield, on Sunday (March 24) to celebrate Holi with the armed forces personnel deployed there, will not embark on the visit due to bad weather. He arrived in Leh instead for the celebration of the festival of colours that will be celebrated on March 24 and 25. He celebrated the festival with the jawans and applied Gulal to the jawans.
Rajnath addresses jawans
Addressing the Army personnel, the Defence Minister lauded the courage and commitment of the jawans and said that "Ladakh is the capital of bravery and prowess".
"The land of Ladakh is not common. It is the land of Siachen, Kargil, Bharat Mata... Ladakh represents the national determination. We know that our political capital is Delhi, our economic capital is Mumbai and our technological capital is Bengaluru, similarly, Ladakh is the capital of bravery and prowess...." he said.
Minister's visit to Siachen cancelled
"Tomorrow, 24th March, I shall be in Siachen, the world's highest battlefield. Looking forward to celebrate Holi with the Armed Forces personnel deployed there," Singh earlier posted on X on Saturday.
The Siachen Glacier at the height of around 20,000 ft in the Karakoram range is known as the highest militarised zone in the world where the soldiers have to battle frostbite and high winds.
Avalanches and landslides are common at the glacier during the winters and temperatures can drop to as low as minus 60 degrees Celsius.
(With PTI inputs)
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