Women would now play a vital role in manning the Indo-Nepal border and also get a more challenging task to prove their mettle.
“I want the total strength of women in the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) should be at least 5 per cent of the total strength which is the standard laid down by the Government. Besides, they should also get challenging tasks to prove that they dont lag behind their male counterparts in any manner,” asserted Director General of SSB, Archana Ramadundram while stressing on the role of women in the para-military force in the days to come.
At present, the SSB has just about 1,200 women personnel in the total cadre.
On a three-day tour to UP, Ramadundram said the role of the women in the SSB becomes vital as during a recent crackdown on gangs engaged in cross-border smuggling of narcotics, fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN), human trafficking, it surfaced that a large number of members were females.
“It is difficult to check criminal activities involving women until cops of the same gender are posted to counter them,” she added.
On Monday, the DG of SSB chaired a meeting of Frontier Headquarters to review security along Indo-Nepal border. She stressed the need of increased professionalism in guarding borders. The top cop also conferred with officials through video-conferencing where IG (lucknow Frontier) VH Deshmukh was present.