A year after Pulwama attack, officials point to a dip in convoy movement on highway

The number
of soldiers being moved in convoys along the Srinagar-Jammu national highway
has dropped to almost a trickle a year after a car bomb attack on a Central
Reserve Police Force (CRPF) convoy in Pulwama on February 14 last year left 40
troopers dead and brought India and Pakistan on the brink of war, officials said.

“Material, rations etc are moved through the same road and soldiers move with convoys to protect the material,” an official said. The official added a year ago convoys comprising 10-70 odd vehicles moved between Jammu and Srinagar ferrying soldiers daily. “In contrast, only 7-8 convoys ferrying material and some soldiers are moved in a month now.”

The Pulwama
attack prompted India on February 26, 2019, to carry out an airstrike on a
terror camp in Pakistan, which retaliated a day later. Pakistan captured and
later released an India pilot after an air combat.

A second
official said counter-insurgency operations following the Pulwama attack
neutralized much of the terror network but convoys are moved under extra
security.

“Extra caution
like link roads connecting the Jammu–Srinagar are sealed when convoys are
moved. A network of close circuit cameras monitoring the route from Jawahar
Tunnel till Srinagar is also partially functioning and likely to completely
functional soon”, the official said.

A bulk of
the CRPF troopers, or about 70 to 80% of them, are moved on Air India flights.
Thrice a week Air India airlifts soldiers and officers between Jammu and
Srinagar. “The thrice a week flights between Jammu and Srinagar continue and
are largely used by soldiers and officers who belong to Himachal, Uttarakhand,
and Punjab,” a third official said. “More troops are moved by air.”

The CRPF has
ensured that the kin of all 40 soldiers killed in the attack have been
compensated. “All the families, except one, have received at least Rs 1.3 crore
on an average. In addition, they have also given alternate employment,” a
fourth senior official said. The benefits to one family had to be withheld
because of a dispute over who the next of kin is.

The CRPF has
also launched a mobile phone application to keep in touch with all the 2,199
soldiers killed in action recently.