Urging for "gender-friendly" amenities in forces, Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday said the Government will provide enhanced infrastructure and logistical facilities at border posts where women personnel have been deployed. Singh was addressing after taking salute at the 53rd Raising Day event of paramilitary Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) here.
"There should be gender-friendly infrastructure at border posts where women are deployed....I believe there is a deficiency in this regard. This needs to be improved. I believe those border posts where women personnel are deployed, more facilities should be provided there," he said, admitting deficiencies to women posted at far flung areas. Apart from SSB, BSF, ITBP also has deployed women personnel as part of their border guarding charter.
Singh said that his ministry will give a serious thought to a pending proposal of SSB to have its own dedictated intelligence wing to aid its ground troops mandated to secure Indian borders with Nepal and Bhutan. "Despite not having a dedicated intelligence wing, you have been quite successful in your operations along the two borders you guard," Singh said.
The Home Minister lauded the force for detecting and apprehending narcotics, arms, ammunition and other banned substances estimated at Rs 274 crore when they were being illegally transacted across the two borders this year.
During the event, SSB Director General Archana Ramasundaram said the force was facing vacancies in the officer cadres and has taken some of them on deputation from other sister forces. The SSB, raised in 1963, has 67 operational battalions (about 67,000 personnel) at present and secures the 1,751-km Indo-Nepal border and the 699-km long Indo-Bhutan border apart from being deployed to render a variety of internal security duties in the hinterland.