Soldiers offer water to a boy as he cycles during a race for peace in Baramulla on Tuesday. The race among schoolchildren was organised by the army. (Reuters)

Srinagar, May 25 (Reuters): Indian soldiers will stage street plays across Kashmir to show the public ways of reducing fatalities during militant grenade and bomb attacks, the army said today.

Rebel violence in the war-torn region has declined since India and Pakistan began a peace process last year. But a series of grenade and bomb attacks during campaigning for the recent Lok Sabha elections has disrupted the peace.

Militants are avoiding gunbattles with troops and have instead resorted to grenade attacks and home-made bomb explosions to reduce rebel casualties, army officers said.

“The street plays will educate people how to run for cover during a grenade attack, how to evacuate casualties and about first aid,” said Major Puneet Sehgal, an army spokesman.

“It will educate people how to take precautions when they see suspicious objects,” he added.

Grenade attacks generally claim more civilian victims as security bunkers and patrol vehicles have a protective cover of nets that bounce away grenades.

A statement from the army said soldiers would also deliver lectures on safety in schools and colleges across the region.

Analysts said the army’s proposal could also be an attempt to build bridges with Kashmiris who accuse troops of human rights abuses in the region.

“Whenever they (militants) find their hold over the public loosening, out of sheer frustration they start throwing grenades with utter disregard for the public at large,” the army statement said.