All-women patrols along Himalayan frontier on the cards

Vijay Mohan

Chandigarh, January 15

The Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force (ITBP) is beefing up its strength on the Himalayan frontier with China by adding eight new battalions. Four of these battalions will be deployed in the Ladakh Sector and the remaining four in Arunachal Pradesh.“We will be getting the additional battalions for Ladakh first and thereafter for the north-east,” ITBP Director-General Krishna Chaudhary said on the sideline of a passing out parade of women constables at the force’s Basic Training Center at Ramgarh near here today. “The overall plan is to raise 16 new battalions of which these eight are being raised in the near future,” he added.He said at present the distance between border outposts (BOPs) along the Himalayas ranged up to 25 km, which will be reduced with the induction of new battalions and facilitate more effective border management.The ITBP is also planning all-women patrols along the border with China. It has decided to post women personnel on BOPs on regular border guarding and combat duties. “Initially, women would form part of joint patrols with men and once they get the desired experience, all women teams would be constituted for both short range and long range patrols,” a top officer said. Many of the newly inducted constables have been posted to battalions deployed on the front.The ITBP is deployed at altitudes ranging up to 18,000 feet in remote snow bound areas with temperatures remain below zero. To provide better amenities for its troops, the force is experimenting with a new design for BOPs in Ladakh, which would be centrally heated and have solar power back up and other facilities required to alleviate the tough conditions. The design is being vetted by the Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee.On the issue of transgressions across the Line of Actual Control, he reiterated that since the border is not demarcated, perceptions on both sides differ and patrolling is carried out accordingly and movements are monitored.