Insurgency in NE has decreased: J J Singh

Kolkata, Sep 21 (UNI) The insurgency in the Northeast has come down as army operations against the militants have marginalised the ultras from the masses and have forced them to go backfoot, Chief of Army Staff General J J Singh said here today.

The Army Chief, who was on a farewell visit to Headquarters Eastern Command, told mediapersons that insurgency has been brought down because of the successful army operations against the ULFA in Assam and other militant outfits in the Northeast and Jammu and Kashmir.

General Singh said a professional and humane approach was adopted by the Army to counter the misguided youth in the Northeast and Jammu and Kashmir.

''Operation Readiness has been the focus of the Army during operations against extremists incorporating new weaponry, technology and all weather conditions,'' he observed.

Besides the operations, the Defence Chief said ''Operation Sadbhavana'' has been launched by the army to reach out to the locals in the troubled states.

''This has provided sustenance to remote villages, helped in making women in these remote areas self-reliant and thereby also helped in lowering the number of insurgencies,'' he said.

With the decline of militancy, General Singh said, developmental activities were increasing in Guwahati, which was emerging as an ''economic bub'' of the Northeast.

UNI