J-K: Schoolgirls, women celebrate Raksha Bandhan with troops at LoC

JAMMU: Army and paramilitary personnel stationed far away from home along the Line of Control (LoC) and International Border (IB) in Jammu region on Wednesday celebrated Raksha Bandhan as hundreds of schoolgirls and women tied them rakhis to mark the festival.

Several security installations and camps along the LoC, IB and in Samba, Kathua, Jammu, Rajouri, Poonch and Udhampur districts organized events to celebrate the day, with schoolgirls and local women tying rakhis on the wrists of Army, paramilitary, and police personnel.

In Samba, girl students drawn from Samba and Beingallar areas thronged various border outposts along IB in the district and tied rakhis on wrists of BSF personnel.

"As they are miles away from their homes, serving and defending the nation on the border, it is our duty to reach out to them as sisters and tie rakhis on their wrists. It is a great feeling to celebrate Raksha Bandhan with them," Sunita Devi, a student, said.

Like her, Anita from Ashoka Model School Raipur said that the motive of tying rakhis on these personnel's wrists is that they do not feel that their sisters are not with them as they ensure safety and security of the borders of our nation.

In Jammu, a function was organised at Octerio border outposts along IB in R S Pura sector, where students of Sewa Bharti-run schools reached out to border guards and tied rakhis on their wrists and prayed for their long life.

In Udhampur, hundreds of students adorned CRPF jawans with rakhis.

The fervour of Raksha Bandhan was evident as schoolgirls in Udhampur tied rakhis to CRPF jawans.

"We are happy to receive them (girl students) here for the special day. Jawans who are deployed on Amarnath duty here know well that they won't get leave for Raksha Bandhan. When these girls tie rakhis on their wrists, they forget everything and are very happy," a CRPF officer said.

In Akhnoor and Mendhar areas of Jammu and Poonch districts, students tied rakhis on the wrists of Army jawans and prayed for their long life.

In Kishtwar district, members of the BJP Mahila Morcha celebrated Raksha Bandhan with auto and bus drivers and tied rakhis on their wrists.

"We are tying rakhis to these people to strengthen the bonds with them and carry forward about the safety and security of women taking public transport," one of the members said.

This year, Raksha Bandhan falls on August 30. The festival of sister-brother bond is observed on the full moon day, known as 'Poornima', of the holy month of Shravan.