School children from Srinagar call on President

New Delhi, Feb 22 (PTI) A batch of 33 school childrenfrom militancy-affected areas of Srinagar met PresidentPratibha Patil today under Indian Army''s Operation Sadbhavana.

The fortnight long tour of the children and twoteachers has been sponsored by the army as part of itsprogramme to win hearts and minds of the people of theinsurgency-hit state.

"Apart from sightseeing, the school children will bemeeting some of the high-ranking officials of the Indian Armyand civil dignitaries during the visit. They would also betaken to a guided tour of Delhi, Agra, Jaipur and Ajmer,"Defence Ministry officials said.

A group of army officers from Srinagar-based ChinarCorps, have been specially selected for the tour ending onMarch 2.

"The children will also get an opportunity to interactwith other school children of different institutions and get afirst-hand experience of the latest developments in allspheres of life outside Kashmir valley," officials said. PTIAD