Kargil, Oct 15 (IANS): President Ram Nath Kovind on Friday visited the Kargil War Memorial at Drass and paid homage to the martyrs.

In a sombre atmosphere, he laid a wreath of white flowers at the memorial to pay his homage to the soldiers, who made the supreme sacrifice to defend the nation during the Kargil war. He was accompanied by Northern Command chief, Lt Gen Y.K. Joshi.

The War Memorial at the foothills of Tololing was constructed in 2004.

The President also participated in Dussehra celebrations and interacted with the jawans.

The President reached Drass in an Indian Air Force helicopter, accompanied by his daughter Swati. He was received at Drass by Ladakh Lt Governor R.K. Mathur, Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council Chairman Feroz Ahmed Khan, and Kargil District Magistrate Santosh Sukhdeve.

Prior to reaching Drass, early in the morning, the President also paid floral tributes to the former President Dr A.P.J. Kalam on his birth anniversary at the Northern Command, Udhampur, in Jammu and Kashmir.

Late last evening, the President interacted with the jawans and officials of all ranks along with their families at the Northern Command HQ at Udhampur. He extended best wishes to the soldiers on the occasion of Dussehra.

The President is on a two-day visit to Ladakh. On Thursday, he was at Leh, where he performed Sindhu Darshan puja.