New Delhi, Nov 5: Army chief General V.K. Singh Saturday completed a three-day visit to Ladakh in Jammu and Kashmir to review the security situation and preparedness of troops as he flew over the forbidding Siachen glacier, a disputed strip of territory between India and Pakistan.
 General Singh, who arrived in Leh Friday, was received by Northern Command General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Lt. Gen. K.T. Parnaik and 14 Corps commander Lt.Gen. Ravi Dastane, an army press release said here.
 The army chief was briefed by the Siachen Brigade Commander before they flew over the glacier to take stock of the security situation. The army chief also interacted with the troops and officers deployed in forward posts under 14 Corps.
 Siachen Glacier is an unforgiving high altitude terrain with temperatures dipping to minus 60 degrees Celsius during winters. The glacier is of strategic importance to India and the army has been maintaining troops at this altitude since 1984.
 The army chief also inaugurated a modern transit facility (MTF) at Leh for soldiers travelling to and from Chandigarh using service courier flights operated by the Indian Air Force. The newly-constructed MTF will provide all the modern facilities to soldiers that are generally available at civil airports. 
 During the second day of his Ladakh tour, the army chief visited forward posts in eastern Ladakh.
 Interacting with the troops, Singh expressed satisfaction on their preparedness to defend the borders. He is slated to visit Kargil Sunday to review the deployment along west Ladakh bordering Pakistan. IANS

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