Army adopts Topa Pir as model village

What’s in today’s article?

• Why in news?
• Army adopts Topa Pir as model village
• Background
• What is Operation Sadbhavana?

Why in news?

• The Army has adopted Topa Pir village in Poonch district as a model village under the Sadbhavana scheme.

Background

• Topa Pir village came to limelight after a video of alleged torture of civilians went viral in December 2023, in the wake of four soldiers being killed in an ambush by militants in Dera Ki Gali area on December 21.
• Three civilians were found dead after they were taken into custody for questioning by the Army.
• The incident evoked widespread criticism and dented the goodwill among the Gujjars and Bakarwals, who mainly inhabit areas close to the LoC in the region.
• Three Army officers, including the Brigadier in-charge, were attached until pending inquiry after the incident.
• Against this backdrop, Indian Army has launched this scheme to reach out to the locals in Pir Panjal valley.

Operation Sadbhavana

• About
  • Operation Sadbhavana (Goodwill) launched in February 2023 is a unique humane initiative undertaken by Indian Army in Ladakh to address aspirations of people affected by terrorism, sponsored and abetted by Pakistan.
  • Under this, Indian Army is undertaking multiple welfare activities such as running of Army Goodwill Schools, Infrastructure Development Projects and Education Tours etc.
  • The objectives achieved through this scheme are national integration tours, women empowerment, employment generation, education and development activities towards nation building.
  • ‘Operation SADBHAVANA’ projects are selected after taking local aspirations into consideration, in conjunction with local civil administration.
  • It is ensured that there is no duplicacy with projects of civil administration.
• Various activities
  • Education
    • Indian Army is presently running seven Army Goodwill Schools (AGS) under this scheme in Ladakh Region.
    • More than 2,200 Students are currently studying in these schools.
  • Health and Sanitation
    • Medical camps, veterinary camps, provision of medical equipment, upgradation of medical infrastructure and staffing of Medical Aid Centres have been provided at various remote locations in Ladakh.
  • Community development projects
    • Assistance is provided include construction, upgradation and provisioning of equipment for community halls, water supply schemes, provision of generators, solar lighting etc.
  • Infrastructure projects
    • Various Infrastructure projects have been allotted and planned in all districts of UT of Ladakh as part of this programme.
  • Women empowerment
    • Women in remote areas of Ladakh are being empowered through various training programmes organised and funded through ‘Operation SADBHAVANA’.
    • These include vocational Training Centres, Women Empowerment Centres and Computer Centres at various locations in Ladakh.
    • In addition, training classes for women are also being organised for various activities i.e. Pashmina Shawl Weaving, Wool Knitting, Extraction of Apricot Oil, Yak Cheese Making, Yak Cheese Baking.
    • Girl students have a fair representation in the education fund outlay of ‘Operation SADBHAVANA’.
    • Further, ‘Kargil Ignited Minds’ an initiative exclusively for girl students of Kargil is launched. It has been launched for preparation for various competitive examinations for admissions into various professional colleges and institutions in India.

Q1) Who is Army Goodwill Schools?

The Indian Army runs a system of 45 schools in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, India. The schools are part of a goodwill initiative and are located in remote and difficult-to-access areas. The schools provide quality education to children at a reasonable fee.

Q2) What is Kargil Ignited Minds?

"Kargil Ignited Minds" is a project that aims to prepare 50 girl students from the Kargil region for national-level engineering and medical entrance exams. The project is a collaboration between HPCL and the Indian Army.

Source: Army adopts Topa Pir as model village after recent civilian deaths in J&K | PIB