"Too much hype over surgical strike": Former army officer
Chandigarh : The initial euphoria over the success of the surgical strike was natural but the constant hype around it is unwarranted, said a former Army officer who was associated with the operation. "I do think there was too much hype over it. The military operation was important and we had to do it. Now how much should it have been politicised, whether it is right or wrong is something that should be asked to politicians," said Lieutenant General DS Hooda (retired) who was the Northern Army Commander when the operation was carried out on September 29, 2016 across the Line of Control (LoC).
Lt. General Hooda saw the live video feed of the surgical strike, which was launched in retaliation to the Uri terror attack in which 19 Indian soldiers were killed by Pakistani terrorists. The Army had said its special forces inflicted "significant casualties" on terrorists waiting there to cross into Indian territory.
Lt. General Hooda had approved the plans for special forces to retaliate less than two weeks after the Uri terror attack. The army officer made the comments in Chandigarh, where he attended the Military Literature Festival (MLF).
The Army officer participated in a panel discussion on the topic "Role of Cross-Border Operations and Surgical Strikes", which was attended by Punjab Governor VP Singh Badnore and a number of former Generals and Army Commanders. Many war veterans cautioned against "politicisation" of military operations.
Lt. General Hooda said it was natural to have initial euphoria about the success but the constant maintenance of hype around the military operations was unwarranted, the release said.
Responding to a question from the audience, General Hooda said in hindsight, it would have been better had we done it (surgical strikes) secretly.The aim of any such offensive had to be not only tactical but strategic too, which substantially hampers enemy morale, he said.
Citing the example of the 1981 Israeli air strikes on Iraqi nuclear sites, which had caused considerable damage, Lt General (retd) N S Brar underscored the need to ensure long-term impact on the enemy before undertaking any such operation in the future.
Cautioning the political masters against being adventurists, General Brar asked if the political masters would have taken responsibility had there been any causalities in the strikes, the release said quoting him.
courtesy : ndtv.com
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4 workers die after being buried under coal slurry in Jharkhand's Dhanbad
Dhanbad (Jharkhand) (PTI): At least four workers died after being buried under coal slurry in Jharkhand's Dhanbad district on Saturday, a police official said.
The incident took place at Moonidih coal washery in the command area of Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL).
"Bodies of all four workers were dug out of debris during a rescue operation," Putki police station in-charge Waqar Hussain told PTI.
The incident took place when coal slurry was being loaded into trucks by workers, during which a large chunk of slurry fell and trapped several workers underneath, officials said.
The deceased have been identified as Manik Bauri, Dinesh Bauri, Deepak Bauri, and Hemlal Gope.
Meanwhile, the family members of the deceased and local villagers placed the bodies in front of the washery gate and began a protest.
They demanded compensation, jobs for dependents and action against those responsible for the incident.
Police and administration officials are trying to pacify the protesters, an official said.
