Suhail A Shah

Anantnag, April 13

The Army has stepped up surveillance system, both on technical and human intelligence gathering fronts, in many parts of south Kashmir, particularly along the Jammu-Srinagar national highway.CCTV cameras have been installed at many important places along the highway, besides an elaborate survey of major concrete buildings along the highway is being carried out by the Army, sources said.The sources said the steps were being taken after militants carried out attacks along the national highway, particularly the Srinagar-Khannabal stretch, in recent months.The attack on the Entrepreneurship Development Institute (EDI) in February this year, in which three Army men were killed during a 48-hour-long gunfight, is being considered as the wake-up call.Three militants, believed to be of Pakistani origin, used the EDI building to their advantage to inflict damages on the Army.To pre-empt any such attacks in future, the Army has asked for site maps and other architectural details of almost all major concrete buildings in the area.“We were asked to provide the blueprint, site map and other details of our shopping complex,” said a businessman from Bijbehara town. He said the Army had asked him the details of every shop in the complex.“Moreover, information on the number of people working in the complex along with their identities was also sought by the Army,” he said.Many other establishments and owners of private buildings have been summoned by the Army and sought such details.“We were asked to provide details such as the exact number of entry and exit points in the building, number of rooms, location of the rooms and every minute detail and we have provided the details,” a school administrator said.Defence spokesperson Col NN Joshi said he was not privy to the operational details and would not be able to comment on the nature of the surveillance measures.

CCTV cameras installed

• The Army is installing CCTV cameras at many important places along the Jammu-Srinagar national highway in south Kashmir
• It is carrying out an elaborate survey of major concrete buildings along the sensitive highway, asking owners for site maps and other architectural details