The changes have been made taking into consideration the vulnerability of the troops during their movements as also a reduction in traffic disruptions
The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Border Security Force (BSF) and the Indian Army have decided to move their convoys in Kashmir in "common window time", according to a report by The Indian Express.
The report states that civilian traffic will remain suspended during the movement of the convoys.
The move comes after the February 14 terrorist attack on a CRPF convoy in Pulwama which killed 40 security personnel.
The report also states that the movement between Srinagar and Jammu will be spread over two days. Earlier, the movement was a one-day trip. Apart from these changes, the timing of movement of the convoy will also be changed, since convoys are usually targeted during afternoons, the report stated.
The changes have been made taking into consideration the vulnerability of the troops during their movements as also reduction in traffic disruptions. The report states that the CRPF had conducted meetings with the Indian Army, the BSF and Jammu and Kashmir Police after the attack to work out a solution.
"Because there are three different forces with massive presence in the Valley, there is movement almost every day, through the day. Stopping traffic for such disparate movements can bring the whole Valley to a halt and also make us vulnerable. So we have decided that the three forces will move together in a single window of time," a senior officer who attended the meetings told the newspaper.
The officer added that in events where the convoys are unable to move together, attempts would be made to ensure that the convoys move within short intervals of each other. Civilian traffic would be allowed during the intervals, the officer said.
Another officer said for the movement of convoys, the "real trouble" starts after Qazigund and Banihal, where the troops become more vulnerable.
"We have seen that most of these attacks take place in the afternoon. So we have decided to cross these stretches in the morning. Ideally, we should reach Srinagar from Qazigund in 2 hours 30 minutes," the second officer said.
Sources told the newspaper that the convoys would halt at Qazigund at night and then leave for Srinagar early in the morning. "For this, we are increasing the holding capacity of our Qazigund camp which currently stands at 1,000 men," a senior CRPF officer told the newspaper.
Another issue that the three forces are working out together is the issue of bulletproof vests. The report states that half of the personnel in the convoy that came under attack on February 14 had shifted to bulletproof vests during their halt at Qazigund. The forces are attempting to limit the number of convoys so that more men are provided with bulletproof vests.
"We need to increase the capacity at transit camps so that we can hold more personnel, for two-three days if required, and are not forced to send them because of increasing numbers," a senior officer told the newspaper.
