NEW DELHI: The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) has deployed as many as 100 ‘veeranganas’ (women combatants) at 15 border outposts along the dangerous Indo-China border. This is the first time India has deployed women troops right at the front, at least on the one which is considered to be the most arduous and tricky given the harsh climatic conditions. The force recently completed the process for deployment of the women personnel at select forward posts, ITBP director general Krishna Chaudhary told the media during his annual press conference.
The contingent, trained in war craft and weapon firing, has been posted after the Border out Posts (BoPs) were made “gender neutral” and other facilities were created for them, he said.Officials said while a maximum of these women have been sent to Indo-Tibetan Border Police BoPs in the Ladakh frontier in Jammu and Kashmir, some have been posted at other locations in Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh.
The total numbers of the women personnel, who have been posted at BoPs, is about 100, they said, adding some more BoPs will have women personnel in the coming days.The force had earlier this year commissioned 500 women troops for deployment on the India-China border in its constabulary ranks after training them for 44-weeks. The posts where these women have been deployed are situated at heights of between 8,000 and 14,000 feet, including the ‘Mana pass’ border post, the last village on the Indian side in Uttarakhand.