J&K: Indian Army Gives Weapons Training To Village Defense Groups As Terrorism Rises

With the number of terror-related incidents going up in the valley, the Indian Army has started training villagers in Jammu and Kashmir on how to use weapons. The latest information says that the training is being given to local Village Defense Groups, which used to be called Village Defense Committees (VDCs).

In the Jammu districts of Poonch and Rajouri, training camps were set up where the people in the groups were taught about the weapons and how to use them. Especially, this move will help people defend themselves against terrorists when security forces or police can’t get there.

These groups have been very important in getting rid of terrorism in the Jammu region. They were first set up in the Doda area in the middle of the 1990s, and then they spread to other areas of J&K. In hilly, out-of-the-way villages, the Indian Army set up these groups to teach people how to defend themselves. Under this plan, VDCs were also given rifles to help protect their villages from terrorist attacks and other activities related to terrorism.

Village Defence Committee receives ‘permanent status’ in J&K

This happened just days after the Centre gave permission for the Village Defence Committee to be set up in Jammu and Kashmir and gave it “permanent status” under the Village Defence Guards Scheme (VDGS). Several committee members also celebrated the change in Jammu’s Poonch district.

“We express our gratitude to PM Modi for the scheme. We suffered a lot and tackled militancy at the local level where Army could not reach,” expressed villagers.

On the other hand, Union Minister Jitendra Singh, who lives in Jammu and Kashmir, thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Minister of Home Affairs Amit Shah for always caring about and supporting the people of the Union Territory.