The recently trained cohort of 500 women labor force has been positioned at high-altitude posts along the India-China border.
- The first “Mahila” troop was commissioned into the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) in Panchkula, Haryana.
After 44-weeks of training in battle craft and mountain survival, the women constables were inducted in the border-guarding force and will now be sent to frontier areas for final acclimatization before being deployed at ITBP posts along the Sino-India Line of Actual Control (LAC).
When & where Women troop will be inducted?
This is the first time that India is deploying women troop right at the front, which is considered to be the most arduous and tricky given the harsh climatic conditions and extreme mountainous terrain along the India-China border.
- These “Mahila” contingents are expected to be posted by March 2016 at about 20 forward locations of the ITBP situated at heights of between 8,000-14,000 feet, including at the “Mana pass” border post, the last village on the Indian side in Uttarakhand.
- The force plans to have women personnel make up at least 40% of its strength at these forward posts.
ITBP has also begun creating logistical and residential facilities for its women personnel at these posts and it is expected to be completed by early March.