Ravi Shankar Prasad, the Home Minister of India, on the 21st of February, approved air travel for personnel of the armed forces, in Jammu and Kashmir.
The Home Ministry of India released a statement, which reads, “In the Jammu and Kashmir sector, it may be recalled that Air Courier Service for CAPFs (Central Reserve Police Force) jawans was approved for the Jammu Srinagar Jammu sector. Subsequently, the service was extended to cover 1) Delhi Jammu, 2) Jammu-Srinagar, 3) Srinagar Jammu and 3) Jammu Delhi sector in December 2017. The number of flights was further extended in December 2018. In addition, air support is provided from Indian Air Force as and when required.”
More than 7,80,000 personnel, holding different posts in the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF,) will benefit from this decision. They can now use commercial flights to go on leave or report back to duty.
Jitendra Singh, the Minister of Home Affairs of Jammu and Kashmir, said, “This is a pathbreaking decision. It’s going to be a huge relief and also a show of respect to our security personnel.”
The decision to approve the air travel was taken in the wake of the Pulwama terror attack, which took place on the 14th of February.
