India celebrated its 67th Independence Day amid tight security on Thursday while Prime Minister Manmohan Singh warned nuclear armed foe Pakistan not to allow its soil to be used against anti-India activities.

New Delhi, Aug 15/Nationalturk – India celebrated its 67th Independence Day amid tight security arrangements on Thursday with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asking Pakistan to prevent its territory from being used for any anti-India activity.

Thousands of security men armed with sophisticated weapons were deployed in Indian capital New Delhi to prevent any possible militant strike on Independence Day. The security men had set up barricades at sensitive places and were keeping a close watch on the movement of people.

All the CCTVs in Indian capital were activated and police officials in control room were watching the live footage to keep a watch on suspects.

An elaborate ground-to-air security apparatus was put in place especially near Red Fort where Prime Minister Manmohan Singh unfurled the Indian flag and addressed the nation.

“The localities around the Red Fort have been sanitized. Adequate security arrangements were made and adequate police and paramilitary personnel were deployed to ensure smooth conduct of I-Day functions. Sharpshooters of elite National Security Guard (NSG) were deployed on the high-rises near the 17th century Mughal monument in Red Fort,” a security official said.

He said security apparatus were tightened on key installations like Parliament complex, international airport, railway stations, inter-state bus terminals and Metro stations.

The official said helicopters and jets were patrolling the skies in New Delhi. “No-fly zone was put in place around the Red Fort for the nearly 90-minute function”.

Indian PM says cross border attacks won’t be tolerated

In his speech, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on various issues ranging from inspiring growth in the country to killings of Indian soldiers along Line of Control (defacto border between India and Pakistan in Indian administered Kashmir) and ties with Pakistan.

Referring to killing of Indian soldiers on LoC, he said, “Indian government will take all possible steps to prevent further killings of its soldiers by Pakistani troops in Indian territory”.

“We will take all possible steps to prevent such incidents in future,” PM said.

On August 6, five Indian soldiers were killed along LoC in Poonch sector in Indian administered Kashmir. India has blamed Pakistan Army for the killing of its soldiers. However, Pakistan has denied the charge saying no such incident took place on the day.

‘Pakistan shouldn’t allow use of its territory against anti-India activity’

Referring to ties with arch rival Pakistan during his Independence Day speech, Indian PM Singh said Pakistan has to prevent use of its territory for any anti-India activity.

“For relations with Pakistan to improve, it is essential that they prevent the use of their territory and territory under their control for any anti-India activity,” he said.

On Indian economy, Singh said country’s economy will again witness rapid growth, thanks to the steps taken in recent months for speedier industry clearances, building infrastructure and boosting inflow of overseas capital.
“I believe this phase of slow growth in India will not last long. In the last nine years, our economy has grown at an annual average rate of 7.9 percent. This pace of development is the highest in any decade so far,” he said.

Singh said several steps had been taken in recent months to ensure removal of bottlenecks for infrastructure development, speed up clearances for industry and attract further foreign investment with enhanced sector-specific caps.

UAVs deployed in Indian Kashmir

Authorities in Indian Kashmir pressed Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) into service for surveillance for the first time in conflict-hit region. The UAVs were used to keep a close watch on the movement of suspected people especially militants.

Hundreds of police, paramilitary and military men were deployed across the volatile Kashmir region to prevent militants from carrying out strikes on government or military installations on the day.

The authorities also shut down cell phone services and mobile internet services in the region. While the cell phone services were restored in the afternoon, the mobile internet service is down since August 10.

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Faiz Ahmad / NationalTurk India News

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