A day after terror strikes, PM, Sonia arrives in J&K

Sringar, June 25: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi arrived in Udhampur, in Jammu and Kashmir, on their two-day visit to the state.

The visit comes a day after a terror strike at an Army convoy in Jammu and Kashmir's capital Srinagar in which eight jawans were killed.

During the visit, Mr Singh and Ms Gandhi are expected to announce a package for border areas of the state.

The Prime Minister will also launch a train service between Qazigund in Kashmir and Banihal in Jammu, providing an all-weather surface link to the Valley that often gets cut off from rest of the country in the winter due to heavy snowfall.

They will also address a public rally after laying the foundation stone of the prestigious 850 MW Rattle Hydro Electrical Power Project to be constructed on river Chenab in Kishtwar.

Eight soldiers were killed and 13 others injured, seven of them seriously, when two militants opened fire on an Army convoy on the outskirts of Srinagar on Monday. The Hizbul Mujahideen has claimed responsibility for the terror attack.

A security blanket has been thrown around Srinagar. Police and paramilitary personnel have been deployed in large numbers and the Army is also conducting foot patrols in some areas.

OneIndia News

(with PTI inputs)