In the aftermath of Pahalgam attack, grounded Dhruv helicopters resume flying in the Anantnag area

Indian Coast Guard’s advanced light helicopters (ALH) ‘Dhruv’. File.
| Photo Credit: Akhila Easwaran

Underscoring the critical shortage of helicopters faced by the armed forces since the grounding of the entire fleet of indigenous Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH) following a crash in January, the ALH resumed flying in the Anantnag area in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack.

The ground commander executing the operation has been given permission by the Union Defence Ministry to use ALHs based on requirement, defence sources said on Wednesday.

A Dhruv ALH-MkIII of the Indian Coast Guard crashed at Porbandar in Gujarat on January 5, killing three personnel on board, including the two pilots and one air crew diver. Following this, the entire fleet of over 300 ALHs with the three services and Coast Guard were grounded for safety checks, and their flying was yet to resume, significantly hampering operations.

On the situation in Kashmir, defence sources said around 125-130 terrorists were estimated to be active, of which almost 115-120 were Pakistani nationals. The intent of the attack appears to have been to disrupt the normalcy and peace that has settled in the region since the abrogation of Article 370, one defence source said, citing the number of tourists and pilgrims for the Amarnath Yatra in the past two years.

Sources in the know said that the lack of specific intelligence was the biggest lapse. One source said that a general alert of a possible threat was issued two weeks ago, and the focus was on the upcoming Amarnath Yatra, which has faced threats in the past, but there was no indication of a possible attack in Pahalgam. In addition, sources said there were no security personnel in around ten locations near the incident, and there was a lack of electronic surveillance in tourist areas.