Guwahati, Nov 28: The Indian Army has decided to allow visitors to visit the icy heights of the Siachen Glacier, Kargil, and also the Galwan Valley in order to give them a first hand look at these hostile battlefields, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Upendra Dwivedi said on Wednesday. He claimed that "terrorism to tourism" is now the main subject in Jammu & Kashmir and that the Army has helped to make this change possible.

General Dwivedi was delivering a lecture on the topic, 'Role and Contribution of Indian Army in Securing India's Growth Story,' under the General BC Joshi Memorial Lecture Series, organised by the Department of Defence & Strategic Studies (DDSS) of the Savitribai Phule Pune University.

According to the COAS, the tourist industry in Jammu & Kashmir, where a new administration was elected following the Assembly elections last month, has enormous potential.

 "The transformative potential of tourism is immense, and an exponential rise (in travellers visiting J&K) has been seen in recent times. Forty-eight areas have been identified for promoting tourism. With targeted initiatives, we have the potential to double our tourist numbers in the next five years," the Army Chief noted.

The Army is dedicated to encouraging adventure sports and giving tour operators and organisers specialised training in order to increase foot traffic in border regions, he said.

 "Upskilling locals in mountaineering and associated activities is part of our training programme, which includes Trans-Himalayan trek, 'Soul of Steel' trek in Uttarakhand and opening of trek to Siachen Glacier for all citizens.

"We are also opening battlefields, including Kargil and Galwan, for tourists to allow them to get first-hand experience of such battlefields," General Dwivedi maintained. The Siachen Glacier, located in the Karakoram mountain range of Ladakh, is known as the world's highest and coldest battlefield.

Kargil, a district in the Union Territory of Ladakh, was the site of the 1999 India-Pakistan war. The Galwan River Valley in Ladakh saw a deadly clash between Indian and Chinese troops in June 2020.

 With inputs from news agency