BSF to provide special shoes to jawans at Attari

AMRITSAR: Border Security Force (BSF) has dropped the plan to rubberize nearly 100 feet long road stretch at Attari, where BSF personnel perform the synchronized daily drill with jawans of Pak Rangers during the flag lowering ceremony.

The personnel will be provided specially fabricated shoes to reduce the impact of stomping during the ceremony. The troops often complain about brain and knee injuries due to the stomping of their heavy shoes on hard road while performing the drill.

"We are not rubberizing the stretch but will provide specially fabricated shoes made with a particular material to protect jawans from any injuries," said BSF inspector general, frontier, A K Tomar.

The exercise, during which the soldiers exchange fiery glances, tweak moustaches, raise legs up to shoulder level, jerk heads and arms, draws droves of Indian and Pakistani tourists on both the sides of the border.

Tomar said BSF had talked to shoe technologists as well as manufacturers and now the trials are being held before providing them to the jawans.

BSF's earlier plan was to rubberize the road but that would not have given the desired effect so the officials decided to lay wooden slabs covered by rubberized material. "That too would not have worked for long, the road could get damage due to movement of passenger buses, so we decided to replace the shoes," said Tomar.

In the past, the BSF had also taken an initiative to do away with the aggressive gestures and shoulder high kicks as one of the preventive measures but the idea was not accepted by Pak Rangers.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chandigarh/BSF-to-provide-special-shoes-to-jawans-at-Attari/articleshow/36594124.cms

Daughter of 1971 PoW BSF sepoy seeks compensation

An uncomfortable situation arose at Bhikiwind village Saturday when the daughter of a missing BSF sepoy, believed to have been taken prisoner of war (PoW) by Pakistan in 1971, alleged that both the state and central government have failed to make sincere efforts to ascertain the whereabouts of her father and demanded compensation of her family.

Harjit Kaur, daughter of BSF sepoy Joginder Singh, lodged her protest as Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal was addressing the people who had gathered to attend the bhog ceremony of Sarabjit Singh, an Indian prisoner who died in a hospital after being brutally assaulted by some prisoners in a Pakistan jail.

Harjit said that her father was posted with 21 BSF Battalion and was taken prisoner by Pakistan in 1971 war. Havildar Hardial Singh, who was one of the colleagues of my father, had told my mother that my father fell down on his knees after coming in line of Pakistani forces fire. Hardial Singh saw my father being thrown into a jeep by the Pakistani forces before being taken away, Harjit said, adding that she was a toddler when the incident took place.

My younger sister was born few months after my father was taken prisoner. Due to the financial crunch and other problems faced by family in later years, my sister later turned insane. We had to shift from my in-laws place in Dharamkot Randhawa to my parental place in Rajatal, Harjit, who along with other family members has paid numerous visits to Attari border looking for clues about her father whenever Indian prisoners are repatriated from Pakistan, said.

She said that one of the repatriated Indian prisoner told the family years ago that her father was lodged in a jail in Pakistan. We were told that he is losing mental balance. An Indian prisoner repatriated by Pakistan about eight years had told us that my father was lodged in Sargodha jail. At present, we do not know whether he is dead or alive or where he is. I wanted to meet the Chief Minister to request him to make efforts to trace the location of my father. I also demand compensation for my younger sister and mother, she added.

Harjit, who is married to a truck driver, rued that the family was promised land in Mohali and a petrol pump, but never got anything. The only thing my mother gets is monthly pension of Rs 6,000, Kaur added.

She lamented that despite being promised she was not allowed to meet the Chief Minister or Congress leader Ambika Soni, who was present at the venue.

Source: http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/daughter-of-1971-pow-bsf-sepoy-protests-during-sarabjits-bhog-ceremony-seeks-compensation/