Rahul Gandhis Bharat Jodo Yatra resumes from Vijaypur, nears Jammu city

Rahul Gandhis Bharat Jodo Yatra resumed from Vijaypur in Samba district Monday morning amid tight security as it headed for Jammu, the winter capital fo the region, a couple of hours away.

Officials said all necessary arrangements were in place for the yatra, which started from Kanyakumari on September 7 and is scheduled to culiminate in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmirs summer capital, on January 30 with Gandhi hoisting the national flag at his party headquarters at a mega rally.

Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijay Singh, General Secretary Organisation K C Venugopal, former minister Tariq Hamid Karra and former J&K Pradesh Congress Committee president G A Mir along with a large number of party workers and supporters carrying tricolours joined Gandhi in Vijaypur along the Jammu-Pathankot highway as the march resumed around 7 am.

After covering a distance of 22 kms on 129 day of the yatra, the marchers will reach Satwari chowk in Jammu, where Gandhi will address a gathering before moving to Sidhra for a night halt.

Officials said the yatra was progressing smoothly under a tight security cover and had reached Saroor at 8.45 am where it stopped for a tea-break.

Gandhi who walked wearing his trademark white T-shirt braving the early morning chill, is expected to enter Jammu city limits within the next couple of hours, the official said.

As the yatra progressed, Gandhi was cheered on by the public and party workers who waited for him standing on either side of the road.

Traffic police have issued a detailed advisory to ensure smooth movement of traffic on the highway and other link roads in the city.

Security has been beefed across the Union Territory in the wake of two bomb blasts in Narwal area on the outskirts of Jammu city on Saturday which resulted in injuries to nine people.

The blasts were triggered by suspected terrorists, who acted despite the heightened security arrangements made ahead of Gandhi-led yatra and the Republic Day celebrations.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Federal staff and is auto-published from a syndicated feed.)