In a first of its kind move, the Border Security Force (BSF) has planned a route march of 10 km for officers of Deputy Inspector General (DIG) rank and above at its training academy at Bhondsi in Haryana in an apparent bid to test their physical fitness and endurance.
In an “urgent” letter issued by the BSF Directorate here on Friday, the paramilitary force said, “I have been directed to convey that as intimated by DG Secretariat, FHQ (Force HeadQuarters), DG BSF has desired that 10 kms Route March will be conducted at 95 BN (Battalion) BSF, Bhondsi, (Haryana) on August 16, 2020. All DIsG (Deputy Inspectors General) and above rank officers posted in Delhi will attend the same.”
“In view of the above, all Dtes (Directorates/ancillaries to forward nominal roll of DIsG posted in your Directorates/ancillaries to this Directorate by 04th Aug 2020 for our further course of action, please,” Second-in-Command Vinod Yadav said in his letter titled “10 Kms Route March for Officers of the Rank of DIsG and Above.”
The letter has been forwarded to all Directorates of the BSF Headquarters here including Medical Directorate/ DG’s Secretariat/Law Branch/Engineering Branch/Air Wing/Finance Wing/IG (HQ) FHQ/DIG (HQ) and a few training institutions located in and around Delhi.
While the BSF spokesperson expressed inability in providing the exact number of officials in the rank of DIG and above in the national capital, sources said there were at least 60 officials in the senior ranks who could attend the march.
While a large number of officials in the BSF ranks, including IPS officers are physically fit, those not up to the mark could find the route march challenging, insiders said.
The BSF secures capacious lengths of over 6,000 km International Boundaries with Pakistan and Bangladesh running down from Himalayan Ranges to Thar Desert and to the Great Rann of Kutch on Western borders as also the frontier in the east.
“These boots on ground are the real strength and the prime resources of force to be cared for, catered and groomed. Their holistic well-being will be my primary tasks in the times to come,” DG SS Deswal had said in his message after taking additional charge of the force earlier this year.
“Capacity building of men and women of force with corresponding resource management for the optimal use will be core areas of my priorities,” Deswal, who also heads the ITBP, had exhorted.
Deswal is himself a fitness freak and undoubtedly one of the most physically fit paramilitary bosses who had undertaken a 100-km speed march in February with senior ITBP officers from Bikaner district’s Mehrasar to Jodhpur in Rajasthan.
The routes covered by Deswal on the Himalayan range include Lipulekh Pass, Sangla Valley (103 KM), Auli Tapovan and Gangotri Tapovan, among others.
The trek record of Deswal includes 30 km around Bhrigu Lake in Himachal Pradesh and touched the highest point at 14,100 ft, Amarnath Yatra route (42 km, highest point: 14,500 ft), Lipulekh Pass (30 km, highest point: 17,060 km), Sangla Valley, Kinnaur in Himachal Pradesh (103 km, highest point: 15,000 ft) and Mussoorie (Distance covered: 42 km, highest point: 6,800 ft).