Tribune News Service,Udhampur, December 16

The 44th anniversary of the 1971 Indo-Pak war, observed as Vijay Diwas, was celebrated at the Northern Command today.Civilians, ex-servicemen and service personnel participated in the celebrations and paid homage to the martyrs who laid down their lives in the Indo-Pak war of 1971.December 16 is celebrated to commemorate India’s victory over Pakistan which led to the creation of Bangladesh. The swift and professionally planned operations executed by the Indian armed forces led to one of the greatest military victories recorded in the annals of world history.It was on this day that the largest military surrender after the World War II took place at Dhaka when the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Command, Lt Gen Jagjit Singh Arora accepted the surrender of 93,000 Pakistani troops from Lt Gen AAK Niazi of the Pakistan army.The Northern Command commemorated the occasion with a wreath-laying ceremony at Dhurva Shahid Smarak by Lt Gen NPS Hira, Officiating Commander. He highlighted the role of the Indian armed forces in achieving major military victories in the 1971 war. The glorious day in the annals of history of the Indian Army was made possible with the supreme sacrifices of valiant soldiers during the 1971 Indo-Pak war.

Mercury dips to -3.7°C in Srinagar

Srinagar, December 16

Srinagar recorded the lowest temperature of the season so far early today as the minimum continued to drop across Jammu and Kashmir.”The minimum temperature in Srinagar was recorded at minus 3.7 degree Celsius. This was the lowest temperature of the season so far,” said an official of the Meteorological Department.Because of the clear sky, the night temperature was likely to drop further during the next 36 hours, the official said.The minimum temperature in Pahalgam was minus 7.3 degree Celsius while in Gulmarg the minimum temperature was recorded at minus 10 degree Celsius. — IANSIn Leh and Kargil towns of the Ladakh region the minimum temperature was minus 13.8 and minus 14.2 degrees Celsius respectively, the official said.In the Jammu region, the minimum temperature was 6.4 degrees Celsius in Jammu city, 5.6 degrees Celsius in Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine base camp town of Katra.The official said the minimum temperature was 1.1 degrees Celsius in Batote town while it was 0.7 degrees Celsius in Bannhihal and minus 1.9 degrees Celsius in Bhaderwah town.The 40-day long period of extreme cold in Kashmir Valley known as ‘Chillai Kalan’ begins on December 21.