7th Pay Commission visits Siachen to meet soldiers

Srinagar: Members of the 7th Pay Commission are on a three-day visit to the Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir, including the Siachen glacier, to take a first-hand account of the extremely difficult conditions in which soldiers are protecting the country's frontiers.

Headed by its chairman, Justice AK Mathur, the 17-member commission on arrival at Leh on Monday visited the headquarters of the Fire and Fury Corps, where they were received by its commander, Lt Gen BS Negi, a defence statement said.

"The Pay Commission delegation was comprehensively briefed by the GOC (general officer commanding) on the peculiarities of difficult terrain, inclement weather and challenging operational conditions under which the soldiers are performing their duties in various parts of Ladakh, including the Siachen Glacier," it said.

The delegation members were also briefed at the Air Force Station in Leh.

"To get a first-hand feel of the hardships being faced by our soldiers, members of the Pay Commission visited the Siachen Glacier, the highest battle field in the world," then defence statement said.

"At the base camp of the Siachen Glacier, the members spent considerable time interacting with the soldiers. They witnessed ice craft and mountaineering training being carried out at the Siachen Battle School."

"They also overflew the entire Siachen Glacier and landed at a forward post to familiarize themselves with the difficult conditions under which our soldiers are performing their duty," the statement added.

It said that besides the Siachen Glacier, the Pay Commission members also visited remote posts in eastern Ladakh and Kargil, as well as Daulat Beg Oldie (DBO), "the highest landing ground in the world, to experience the hardships being faced by our soldiers in that area".

Besides soldiers, the Pay Commission members also interacted with personnel of the Indian Air Force, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police, the Border Roads Organisation, and representatives of the Defence Research and Development Organisation.

"During their visits to the forward areas, the Pay Commission members laid floral wreaths at the Siachen War Memorial, the Kargil War Memorial and the Rezangla War Memorial, and paid tribute to our martyrs," the statement said.