BSF Playing Important Role in Promoting New Tourism Destination
Diplomat Correspondent
JAMMU: DD, The Department of Archives, Archaeology and Museums, under the supervision of Director K.K. Sidha, organised an extensive visit to the Suchetgarh Border and Octroi Post for 51 students from Migrant School, Bohri, on the fifth day of World Heritage Week 2025.
The group was led by Assistant Director, Dr. Sangeeta Sharma. The initiative was aimed to give students a firsthand connection to India’s border heritage, patriotic traditions and military discipline.
The visit began with students witnessing the Beating Retreat ceremony, which commenced with patriotic songs performed by Kishore Kumar, energizing the audience and encouraging the student participation through dance.
During the programme, Kalpana Chawla addressed the audience and shared insights about the strategic and cultural significance of the BSF Octroi Post.
The ceremony included a disciplined Dog Parade, the Brass Band led by Balwant Raj, the Women’s Marching Band under Rita Choudhary, demonstrations by Veer Commandos and coordinated performances supervised by Sub-Inspector Ashwani Kumar.
The ceremony concluded with the ceremonial lowering of the Indian flag by the Rashtriya Dhwaj Rakshak Toli under the command of Nandan Kumar.
Following the parade, the students visited the nearly 200 year old Raghunath Ji Temple, believed to date back to the era of Maharaja Gulab Singh.
As the BSF has started the Beating Retreat ceremony it has attracted tourism to the border village, Suchetgarh located close to the Zero-Line on IB.
The tourism from across the Jammu and Kashmir, and outside the erstwhile state also witness the ceremony while visiting the border areas where the BSF troops guide them.
The BSF has significantly developed the spot as a main tourist attraction where the number of visitors has helped the local economy to grow gradually.DD
