ITBP DG Meets Uttarakhand CM Rawat, Discusses Infrastructure Development along China Border

Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) chief S S Deswal on Friday called on Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat in state capital Dehradun and discussed issues related to border infrastructure development, officials said.

The ITBP is tasked with guarding the 3,488-km long Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China and Uttarakhand shares about 350 km of this front.

The meeting comes in the backdrop of a bitter stand off between Indian and Chinese troops at multiple locations in eastern Ladakh for over eight weeks since May 5.

However, following a series of diplomatic and military talks, the two sides began a mutual disengagement process at most of the friction points on July 6.

The force has deployed about 10 battalions, comprising over 10,000 personnel, in the hill state for border guarding duties and disaster rescue operations.

The ITBP Director General is on a two-day visit to the state during which he will also visit the academy of the border-guarding force in Mussoorie.

A senior official said during the meeting, Deswal informed the CM about pending proposals and progress made in developing road connectivity to border areas and ITBP posts and laying of electric lines in remote areas of this front.

Provision of fresh land for housing projects of ITBP and enhancing mobile connectivity in remote locations where the posts of the force are located were also discussed during the meeting, the official said.

The CM and the DG also discussed steps that can be taken to promote tourism in the state, including water sports and taking the services of the migrants who have returned to Uttarakhand in the wake of the coronavirus-induced lockdown, the official said.

The CM assured the ITBP chief that officials of the state government will work in coordination with the ITBP to speed up these border works, they said.

The force has bolstered its numbers all across the Sino-India border front in the wake of the recent military standoff and the ongoing disengagement between the two countries.

The about 90,000 personnel strong ITBP was raised in the aftermath of the 1962 Chinese aggression and it is trained in mountain warfare.