Fire and Fury Corps on Tuesday paid homage to the Galwan valley martyrs on its first anniversary who were killed in the violent faceoff with Chinese troops last year.
PRO Defence, Srinagar in a statement said a total of 20 Indian soldiers lost their lives defending our land and inflicted heavy casualties on their counterparts.
Major General Akash Kaushik, COS, Fire and Fury Corps,in a solemn ceremony laid a wreath at the iconic War Memorial in Leh on the occasion.
It further said that the nation will remain eternally grateful to these gallant soldiers who fought in the most difficult high altitude terrain and made the supreme sacrifice in service of the nation.
Since the incident took place, the Indian defence forces have strengthened themselves in the entire Ladakh sector through multiple initiatives including building infrastructure to enhance connectivity and deploying additional troops to tackle any possible aggression by the Chinese.
"Surprised shortly by the sudden Chinese aggression in the Ladakh sector, the forces have now strengthened themselves significantly," government officials told ANI.
They further reiterated that there have been vast infrastructural improvements since the incident including road connectivity to all forward points.
"Whether it is the Zojila pass, the world's new highest motorable road Umling La, Marsmik La, or Khardung La, they have been kept open for troops movement throughout the year, courtesy the Border Roads Organisation," they said.
With this, there would be uninterrupted supply at the forward points and troops could be deployed in no time.
The Indian Army has also strengthened its deployments in Ladakh as well as the entire Line of Actual Control (LAC) as it has now deployed an additional strike corps to tackle the China border.
"The Mathura-based One Strike Corps has been reoriented towards the northern borders in Ladakh and the 17 Mountain Strike Corps has been given the charge of the entire northeastern states along with providing it an additional Division comprising over 10,000 troops, they said.
With the arrival of Rafale fighter jets,the Indian Air Force also stands strong and is ready for any untoward incidents, they said.
Further, they said that the preparedness of the armed forces is now at a level where he Chinese or any other adversary cannot surprise us in any way.
