The Indian Navy has revived its National Cadet Corps (NCC) training area in Kashmir for the first time since militancy reared its head, launching a 15-day naval camp at the scenic Manasbal Lake.

Officials said it was the first time in 33 years that such a camp was being held in Kashmir, attributing the feat to what they claimed was an improvement in the security situation in the Valley.Group commander, NCC Group Srinagar, Brigadier K.S. Kalsi said Ganderbal’s Manasbal Lake and Srinagar’s Dal Lake used to host naval training for NCC cadets until 1989, but the training area was shifted to Jammu’s Mansar Lake after militancy broke out.

“Because of the efforts of the government and the security forces over the last few years, the security situation has improved to an extent and become so good that we have (again) started the training area of Manasbal,” Brig.

Kalsi told a media conference on the lake’s banks.“Today we have set up a camp for 100 cadets, including boys and girls from both Jammu and Kashmir regions,” he added. The facility at the sprawling fresh-water Manasbal Lake is considered excellent for the naval training of NCC cadets.The officials said a suitable camping site with adequate infrastructure had come up on the lake banks and two naval training boats had been shifted to the place from Mansar.Brig. Kalsi called it a “momentous occasion” and “a red-letter day” for the NCC in the Kashmir Valley.

“The NCC is a major organ of nation-building and it aims to train the youth of the country to inculcate discipline among them and make them responsible citizens,” he said.

The officer said the cadets were also trained to help them join the armed forces. An NCC cadet said the facility in the Valley would be a boon for cadets from Kashmir as they faced hardship going to Jammu for training. The NCC had started its activities in Kashmir in 1965. The activities suffered a setback with the rise of militancy, drying up cadres and making the place vulnerable. The activities, however, picked up gradually.

The Indian Navy has played a limited role on the anti-militancy front in Kashmir after its Marine Commandos, also called Marcos, were deployed in 1995 for counter-militancy operations, mostly in and around Wular Lake in north Kashmir, not far from Manasbal in central Kashmir. They killed several militants in its operations.

Officials said the cadets would be trained in activities such as boat pulling, sailing, signalling and ship modelling at the camp in Manasbal.Brig. Kalsi said the absence of a naval training programme in the Valley was a demotivating factor and hoped cadets from Kashmir would immensely benefit from the beautiful location. He said it would motivate many local youths to join them.The camp will prepare the cadets for the forthcoming national-level NCC camp at Visakhapatnam, which will commence on October 2.