The Hindu : Front Page : High alert in cantonments

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Thursday, Jul 13, 2006

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High alert in cantonments

HIGH VIGIL: An Army jawan stands guard near India Gate on Wednesday in the wake of the Mumbai bomb blasts. PHOTO: Reuters

NEW DELHI: Army cantonments across the country were put on high alert on Wednesday and asked to take ``full scale security measures'' in the wake of reports that terrorists could carry out `fidayeen' attacks, Defence sources here said.

The alert was sounded by the Army Headquarters to its units to prepare to confront human bomb attacks in the wake of Tuesday's wave of serial blasts in Mumbai and a number of grenade- throwing incidents in the Kashmir Valley, they said.

While formations in Jammu and Kashmir are always on alert to contend with such attacks, special instructions have been given to major cantonment areas in New Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and other neighbouring areas.

According to a report from Jammu, the authorities have deployed troops at the railway station and activated a multi-tier security set-up at major installations. After a high-level security meeting, a red alert was sounded in the Jammu region in general and Jammu city in particular after the serial grenade attacks in Srinagar and the multiple train blasts in Mumbai on Tuesday, official sources said.

All the police station areas in the State's winter capital were put under round-the-clock monitoring and police mounted on surveillance vehicles are patrolling the city streets, they said.

A multi-tier security apparatus involving the police, CRPF, intelligence sleuths and the Army is in place in the city, they said, adding that in view of heavy rush of pilgrims to the Vaishnodevi and Amarnath cave shrines, army commandos were deployed at Jammu railway station. The security in and around MAM Stadium -- the base camp of Amarnath yatra -- has been stepped up and no one is being allowed inside without an identity card, they said. - PTI.

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