Defence Minister Rajnath Singh announced that the Siachen area is now open for tourists and tourism.
He also inaugurated a strategically important bridge on the Shyok river in Eastern Ladakh.
The ‘Col Chewang Rinchen Setu’ was constructed by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) at an altitude of 14650 feet in the forward area of Ladakh region.
About Siachen
The Siachen Glacier is the world's highest battlefield.
It is a glacier located in the eastern Karakoram range in the Himalayas
Karakoram is sometimes called the "Third Pole".
It is just northeast of the point NJ9842 where the Line of Control between India and Pakistan ends.
In 2004, the then President of India Abdul Kalam became the first head of state to visit the area.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh became the first Indian Prime Minister to visit the area in 2005.
After that present Prime Minister Narendra Modi also visited this place in 2014.
The Indian Army had been allowing expeditions to Siachen in the late 1970s till they came to a total stop in 1984.
In 1984, India launched Operation Meghdoot, a military operation that gave India control over all of the Siachen Glacier.