NEW DELHI: The Border Security Force deployed along the sensitive Pakistan and Bangladesh frontiers is complaining of a shortage of active-duty personnel. The staff reporting sick are aggravating the pressure on the units.An officer said the force has a shortage of 20,000 personnel. “Each unit has around 100 personnel marked Low Medical Category (LMC),” he said. A BSF unit has 1,210 personnel.
The “worrisome” fact is the shortage of personnel below the level of officers. “They are at the core of the security net that actually guards the borders. A head constable is at the first level of supervisor followed by ASI, SI, Inspector and then AC,” said an officer.The BSF leadership and the MHA are aware of the problem, the officer said.
Constables at the entry level to the force take more than 20 years to get their first promotion. The stagnation has hit every rank of the force.Senior officers would often hold a ‘darbar’ and personally meet the personnel. This practice stopped in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic. The informal meetings are conducted through video conferencing at the headquarters level.
The BSF has 190 battalions with Group B and C having 250,000 personnel with around 5,500 Group A officers. The force has seen two cases of fratricides in 2021 and five so far this year.