Kargil Vijay Diwas: Army chief, Union ministers Mandaviya, Seth lay wreaths at war memorial in Kargil

Drass, July 26: The 26th ‘ Kargil Vijay Diwas’ is being commemorated with patriotic fervour at War memorial Drass in Kargil district of Ladakh on Saturday.

To mark the occasion, Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya, Minister of State for Defence Sanjay Seth, Army Chief Gen Upendra Dwivedi, LG Ladakh Kavinder Gupta, CEC LAHDC Kargil Dr Mohd Jaffar besides many dignitaries attended ‘Kargil Vijay Diwas’ celebrations at Drass in Kargil district.

They laid wreath at the Kargil War Memorial to pay tribute to those who laid down their lives in the line of duty during the Kargil War in 1999.

Union Minister Mansukhani Mandaviya lead a ‘padyatra’ featuring over hundreds youth volunteers, veterans, armed forces personnel, families of fallen soldiers, and civil society members in Drass. He was joined by Minister of State for Defence Sanjay Seth and CEC Kargil Dr Mohd Jaffar to mark the 26th Kargil Vijay Diwas and pay tribute to the brave soldiers who laid down their lives in the 1999 Kargil War.

At the Old Horse Polo Ground in Bhimbhat, Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya, the Chief Guest of the event, addressed young volunteers from Yuva Bharat, NCC and NSS, along with school and college students.

Dr. Mandaviya urged the youth to dedicate themselves to building a strong and developed India, guided by the spirit of “Nation First.”

Minister Sanjay Seth also addressed the gathering, praising the energy of the youth and the sacrifices of the armed forces. He encouraged students to live with discipline and national pride, inspired by the legacy of the Kargil heroes.

Notably, the 26th Kargil Vijay Diwas as it was on July 26, 1999, that the Indian Army announced the successful culmination of ‘Operation Vijay’, declaring victory after a nearly three-month-long battle in the icy heights of Kargil, including super-high-altitude locations, such as Tololing and Tiger Hill. Kargil was then part of erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir but now falls in the UT of Ladakh, which was created after bifurcation of J&K on August 5, 2019.