Eye on eastern Ladakh, new Army division likely to be raised this year

A long-pending plan to raise a new Army division for possible deployment in eastern Ladakh is likely to be implemented this year as part of a series of changes for Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) and the Ladakh region, The Indian Express has learnt. According to sources, the Army is considering raising the 72 Division — which was to originally function under the 17 Mountain Strike Corps (MSC) based in Panagarh (West Bengal) — for possible deployment in eastern Ladakh under the Northern Command. A division has approximately 14,000 to 15,000 troops. However, instead of recruiting additional manpower, the Army is…