Authorities across Indian administered Kashmir have increased security measures ahead of the 77th Republic Day on January 26 to prevent any disruptive activities, including stringent vehicle inspections and intensified surveillance using drones and high resolution CCTV cameras to monitor movement in real time. The heightened alert follows a gunfight in a remote forested area in the upper reaches of Jammu and Kashmir’s Kishtwar district, where at least eight Indian soldiers were injured during a fierce gunfight with suspected militants on Sunday, according to officials. Security operations have been further intensified in the run up to Republic Day, which commemorates the adoption of India’s constitution on January 26, 1950.