Himachal Pradesh Government has issued a high alert in two tribal districts i.e. Lahaul -Spiti and Kinnaur after violent clashes between troops of the Indian Army and the People Liberation Army (PLA) of China on Tuesday.
An Indian Army Commander Col. Babu and twenty soldiers of Indian Army and dozens of PLA soldiers were reportedly killed in Gulwan valley in Ladakh after a violent clash between the solders of the two Armies.
The state government has put the intelligence agencies and administration in the two districts on alert to ensure the security of people living in the villages close to Chinese borders, besides asking residents living in the bordering areas to remain alert.
The two districts of Himachal Pradesh share borders with China spanning into hundreds of miles and strategic roads taking supplies to Army units stationed on Indo- China boarders in Ladakh and Kaurik in Kinnaur districts pass through Lahaul – Spiti and Kinnaur districts, respectively. During Indo- China conflict of 1962 the Chinese Army was very active in this sector.
The Indian government has stationed several units of the Indian Army, besides Indo-Tibetan Border Police to man the borders of India in this region.
The Ministry of Home Affairs had already issued an advisory to Himachal and Uttrakhand governments to remain alert with rising tension on China border.
Superintendent of Police and spokesman of the state police headquarter Shimla Khushal Thakur said, “In view of the recent face-off between the PLA of China and the Indian Army in Ladakh sector, an alert and an advisory have been issued to the districts of Kinnaur and Lahul-Spiti to take all precautionary measures to ensure the security of the local population and also to collect intelligence to help the security agencies.”