The Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force has undertaken a bottoms up approach of communication to understand the practical difficulties in far flung border outposts (BOPs) and redress them in a time-bound manner.
The idea is the brainchild of ITBP Director-General Krishna Chaudhary, who has initiated a process that will enable him to hear directly from field commanders issues that affect their operational efficiency and seek their suggestions and ideas on ways and measures to improve their functioning.
Chaudhary said, “I have decided to meet the field commanders in batches directly to get a first-hand idea of the problems they face on the ground and address them at the earliest. I will also seek any new idea that the young officers may have, to further improve their functioning.”
Chaudhary will meet about 20 commanders from different field formations on Friday at the paramilitary headquarters here. The DG will also meet the remaining 40 commanders in two batches later on. Chaudhary said the exercise will also help in bridging the communication gaps between the headquarters and the field formations.
The paramilitary boss had earlier sought suggestions from field formations on improving the work environment in the BOPs. About 120 suggestions came up from the exercise. Chaudhary said, “We are working to implement all these suggestions in the ongoing fiscal year.”
The ITBP boss further said mules would be provided soon. There is a vacancy of about 300-400 mules out of the sanctioned positions of 1,300 ponies. The mules act as a major mode of transport for taking supplies to as many as 70 BOPs that are not connected by roads and the terrain is inhospitable. The force will now onwards procure all the mules of endemic variety as they are tough and perform better in those high altitude locations.
In order to address the gaps in aerial maintenance of 41 BOPs, the Union Home Ministry has accorded sanction for a dedicated chopper of the BSF Air Wing. One of the eight Mi 17 V5 choppers being procured by the BSF Air Wing will be used solely for servicing these 41 BOPs. These BOPs can be serviced only aerially and there were gaps in the flying hours earmarked by the IAF and Army.
The ITBP with 60 battalions (about 80,000 personnel) guard the 3,488 km-long Indo-Tibetan border.