The Indian Army has set up "stress-buster" centres in Jammu and Kashmir to counter increasing incidents of security personnel snapping under the strain of counter-insurgency operations in the state.

Within 48 hours of an incident in which a paramilitary trooper killed seven of his colleagues in the north Kashmir town of Baramullah, the army has set up entertainment and game centres where troops can spend time warding off the stress accumulated during continuous counter-insurgency operations.

The beginning was made at Nagrota, the headquarters of the strategic 16 Corps, Tuesday morning. 

Corps commander Lt. Gen. Ashok Kapur inaugurated the stress-buster centre and hoped such facilities would go a long way in improving the work culture and personality of troops.

"I am sure the activities at these centres would keep them off the stress," he told reporters.

The centres would have all sorts of entertainment and games as psychologists have suggested that such activities can relieve the pressure on individuals caught in situation where they have to be alert all the time, looking for an invisible enemy.

The 15-year-old separatist campaign in Kashmir has led to a number of incidents of troops under stress either committing suicide or shooting their colleagues and superiors.

--Indo-Asian News Service