J&K launches Retreat Ceremony at Octroi Post in Suchetgarh on India-Pak border, know significance

Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir Manoj Sinha on October 2, 2021, inaugurated the Retreat Ceremony at the Octroi Post in Suchetgarh on India-Pakistan International Border on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti. “The Retreat Ceremony on the lines of Wagah Border reflects the great legacy and valour of the Border Security Force (BSF), India’s first line of defence,” said LG Manoj Sinha. He also paid tributes to the martyrs from the security forces while observing Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav.

“On the auspicious occasion of the birth anniversaries of Mahatma Gandhi and Lal Bahadur Shastri, the BSF has made a new beginning that will ensure a massive push to border tourism in the union territory Jammu & Kashmir, besides putting Suchetgarh on the global tourism map,” said LG Manoj Sinha.

Historic day for J&K. Inaugurated Retreat Ceremony at Octroi Post, Suchetgarh on the India-Pak International Border. The ceremony on the lines of Amritsar's Wagah Border reflects the great legacy and valour of Border Security Force, India's first line of defence. pic.twitter.com/CGWKsMGcQD

— Office of LG J&K (@OfficeOfLGJandK) October 2, 2021

First-ever BSF Retreat Ceremony at Octroi Post in Jammu – Key Points

After an eight-month-long ceasefire between India and Pakistan, India launched the first-ever Retreat Ceremony at the Octroi Post on the India-Pakistan International Border in Suchetgarh, Jammu & Kashmir on October 2, 2021. Launched by Lt Governor Manoj Sinha, the ceremony was a Wagah-Attari style Border Security Forces (BSF) retreat ceremony that comprised a structured parade by the BSF personnel.

The parade will be a regular feature of the Retreat Ceremony which will be held twice a week by the BSF personnel on the Indian side on the India-Pakistan International Border on Saturdays and Sundays, informed a senior BSF official.

Significance

Approximately 27km from Jammu, Suchetgarh has been a route to Sialkot (now in Pakistan) during the pre-partition era of India-Pakistan. The railway route through Suchetgarh was the first railway line in J&K but the line fell into despair on both sides of the India-Pakistan border since 1947.

The inauguration of the Retreat Ceremony in Suchetgarh is expected to aid in fully tapping the tourism potential of Suchetgarh, making the Suchetgarh-Sialkot route a trade and travel route, boosting the economic development of the area, and enhancing cross-border ties. The Ceremony is expected to help Suchetgarh become a tourist spot throughout the year like the Attari border.

Border Tourism Initiative launched in 2016 at Octroi Border

In July 2016, the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) government had launched a border tourism initiative at the Octroi Border Out Post (BoP) along the India-Pakistan International Border. Minister of State for Culture and Tourism Priya Sethi in 2016 had launched the border tourism initiative in Jammu. The border tourism initiative aimed at making the Octroi Border Out Post in Jammu a tourist sport similar to the Wagah-Attari border.