JAMMU: Jammu and Kashmir Police chief Dilbag Singh on said 200 to 300 terrorists are active in the state and Pakistan has intensifiedcross-border firing to push in as many of them as possible before the onset ofwinter.

He also said a large number of terrorists had managed tosneak into the state from across the border recently even as thecounter-infiltration grid scuttled various attempts by eliminatinginfiltrators. "The number of active terrorists (in Jammu and Kashmir) isbetween 200 to 300... the figure usually does not remain static and goes up anddown," Mr Singh told reporters during a visit to the border district ofPoonch to review the security situation. The director general of police (DGP)said Pakistan has intensified ceasefire violations to push in as manyterrorists as possible."A large number of ceasefire violations are takingplace in both Kashmir and Jammu regions. It is going on in Kanachak, R S Puraand Hira Nagar (along the International Border) and quite frequently along theLoC in Poonch, Rajouri, Uri, Nambla, Karnah and Keran," Mr Singh said."Theseceasefire violations are aimed at pushing (in) as many militants as possible(before the onset of winter). Our anti-infiltration grid is very strong andmany infiltration attempts have been successfully foiled in the recenttimes," he said.

However, the DGP said, there are reports which suggest thata large number of terrorists have managed to infiltrate into the state."Aftertheir crossing onto this side, we had some encounters and some terrorists werealso eliminated. While two Pakistani terrorists were arrested in Gulmargsector, two terrorists were killed in a four-day-long operation in Ganderbal onSeptember 29," he said.

Mr Singh said some of these terrorists have been sighted atcertain places and "we have intensified our operations against them".

Speaking about the situation in the state post removal ofits special status under Article 370 two months ago, Mr Singh said it ispeaceful in Jammu, Leh and Kargil and things are improving in Kashmir."Weare hopeful that the situation will improve further there (Kashmir) in thecoming days," he said.

"Today, the movement of traffic was heavy in Srinagarand there were also traffic jams at some places. The markets have startedopening and so have the businesses," he added.Normal life in the valleyhas remained largely crippled since August 5, when the Centre revoked Jammu andKashmir''s special status and announced the decision to bifurcate the stateinto two Union territories.

The DGP visited Kulali, Marah, Hill Kaka and Mandi areas inPoonch. Senior Army and police officers briefed him about the prevailingsecurity situation in these areas.Mr Singh exhorted all ranks to remainvigilant to the emerging security challenges, a police spokesperson said.