George does a Santa Claus for jawans in forward areas

Defence Minister George Fernandes who, armed with a 4.5 tonne cake, has already embarked on a two-day journey to take him from Tawang in the...

Defence Minister George Fernandes who, armed with a 4.5 tonne cake, has already embarked on a two-day journey to take him from Tawang in the North-East to the Siachen Glacier and finally to the deserts of Rajasthan to celebrate Christmas with troops in forward areas.

The cake has been baked specially for the Defence Minister by Koshy’s, Bangalore, and will be ferried around in an IL-76 Indian Air Force aircraft all through Fernandes’s journey.

Early today, on the eve of Christmas, Fernandes took off in a service aircraft for Tawang where the first slices of the cake were distributed among the troops deployed along the Indo-China border. Landing at the IAF’s technical area in Palam today afternoon, Fernandes quickly changed aircraft and took off for Srinagar where he was to spend the night.

Tomorrow morning, the minister is scheduled to visit forward areas in Kargil and Thoise, the base camp for Siachen, before flying to Rajasthan. In the evening, the minister would spend time with troops on the Western borders, ending his journey in Bhuj where he is scheduled to visit soldiers deployed in the Rann of Kutch.