he Army’s Northern Command on Monday handed over a large number of Covid-related material, including oxygen concentrators, PPE kits, face masks and steam inhalers to Udhampur district administration. Photo for representation only

Jammu, June 14

The Army’s Northern Command on Monday handed over a large number of Covid-related material, including oxygen concentrators, PPE kits, face masks and steam inhalers to Udhampur district administration, a defence spokesman said. This was the second time in the past three weeks that the Udhampur-based Northern Command provided such a large quantity of essential medical supplies in the district. The items were handed over to Udhampur District Commissioner Indu Kanwal Chieb by the Station Commander, Udhampur Military Station, on behalf of Northern Command as part of proactive assistance to the civil administration.

“The Northern Command has taken concrete steps towards establishing special Covid care centres, sensitising the public on precautions, provisioning dedicated Covid care to ex-servicemen, etc.” the spokesman said. — PTI

Army officers, who passed out of IMA on June 13, 1971, at the National War Memorial on Sunday.

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, June 13

Completing 50 years of having passed out of the Indian Military Academy (IMA), officers from the famed “Born to battle” course got together to pay homage to their mates at the National War Memorial in the national capital on Sunday.

The batch had passed out of the IMA on June 13, 1971, and within six months were thrust into the India-Pakistan war of December 1971, hence the sobriquet “born to battle”.

Twentysix of the batch mates got together in New Delhi today. Lt Gen Vishnu Kant Chaturvedi, one of those who attended the event, said similar events were organised at Chandimandir, Pune and Bengaluru.

A total of 349 cadets passed out of the IMA in June 1971 and 50 years later, 95 of them have passed away due to various reasons. Five officers of the batch were martyred during the 1971 war. One among them was Param Vir Chakra awardee Second Lieutenant Arun Khetarpal of the Poona Horse Regiment. He was responsible for repulsing a fierce counterattack at the Basantar river in the western sector. After having destroyed five enemy tanks, he laid down his life fighting for the country.

Col NJC Nair, Commanding Officer of the 16 Maratha light infantry, was awarded the highest peacetime gallantry award Ashok Chakra posthumously for counter insurgency operations in Nagaland.

According to the original plan, the batch mates were to reunite at the IMA, Dehradun, to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of their passing out, but the Covid-19 pandemic forced them to change the plan.

HC calls for report on medical condition of convict Naresh Sehrawat

PTI file photo

New Delhi, June 14

The Delhi High Court on Monday called for a status report from the police regarding the health of a life convict in a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case who has sought interim suspension of sentence for 90 days on medical grounds.

A bench of Justices Navin Chawla and Asha Menon directed the police to file the fresh status report regarding the medical condition of convict Naresh Sehrawat before the next date of hearing on July 5.

Advocate Dharam Raj Ohlan, representing Sehrawat, told the court that he was seeking interim suspension of sentence or parole of 90 days in accordance with the guidelines laid down by the High Powered Committee (HPC) set up for decongesting jails to prevent spread of Covid-19 among prisoners.

Ohlan contended that his client was suffering from stage 4 kidney and liver ailments for which transplants were the only option and till he gets a transplant he has to be on a special diet which would not be possible while in prison.

The lawyer also told the bench that in view of Sehrawat’s medical condition he was susceptible to Covid-19 infection.

Opposing the plea, senior advocate R S Cheema, representing the Special Investigation Team (SIT), told the bench that Sehrawat has already received two doses of Covid vaccine and he was being well looked after.

To this, Ohlan said vaccination was not a 100 per cent guarantee or protection against Covid-19 infection.

Cheema also told the court that the convict was being provided all the requisite medical treatment and there was no emergency right now for grant of any relief to him.

An SIT was earlier set up by the Ministry of Home Affairs to reinvestigate the riot cases.

The trial court had awarded death penalty to convict Yashpal Singh and life term to Naresh Sehrawat in the case relating to the killing of two men in New Delhi during the 1984 riots—the first convictions in the cases reopened by the SIT.

Sherawat has also appealed against his conviction and the sentence before the high court which is pending.

The death reference as well as appeal of Singh against the capital punishment awarded to him is also pending in the high court. PTI

China’s People’s Liberation Army soldiers near Mukhpari peak. file

Ajay Banerjee

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, June 14

A clash between Indian and Chinese troops on the intervening night of June 15 and 16 at Galwan in eastern Ladakh last year has set a new template for military readiness along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

No breakthrough

• India-China talks to disengage in eastern Ladakh broke down on April 9
• Both sides have jets, artillery guns, missiles, UAVs lined up on either side
• The Galwan clash nullified all LAC peace pacts signed since 1993

All agreements stitched for maintaining peace along the LAC since 1993 now stand breached. The two nuclear-armed acrimonious neighbours maintain a deployment of armed troops within cannon-shot range of each other and talks to disengage and de-escalate broke down on April 9.

The matters don’t look to get sorted out in the next few months, in an assessment within the Indian security establishment.

India has made it clear that pulling back troops from friction points along the LAC could be done only after the Chinese army “disengaged” from areas like Gogra, Hot Springs and the Depsang plains. So far, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) of China has been inflexible to this suggestion. As of now, the “disengagement” has happened only at one sector — Pangong Tso.

Both sides have fighter jets, armed helicopters, tanks, artillery guns, air defence missiles, UAVs and thousands of troops lined up on either side of the 823-km LAC in eastern Ladakh.

The clash at Galwan was the first fatal event since 1975 when a team of Assam Rifles was ambushed by the PLA in Arunachal Pradesh. Before that, a fully armed class had ensued in 1967 at Nathu La in Sikkim.

At Galwan, 20 Indian Army soldiers, including an officer, were killed in action. More than 900 troops on each side were involved in a physical clash, which started on the night of June 15 last year. It lasted several hours — in three phases — and ended in the early hours of June 16. Most of the deaths occurred as soldiers fell off the cliffs into a narrow valley and the Galwan river at an altitude of 15,000 ft. Some died due to hypothermia and others due to injuries.

Stones, steel poles and bamboo poles with nails embed on them were used by the Chinese to attack the Indian troops. The PLA also suffered fatal casualties even as no bullets were fired in the clash. The casualties would have been manifold had bullets been fired.

The incident had occurred after a round of talks to withdraw from the stand-off. The PLA had build a fresh post and set up arctic tents at vantage position on the south bank of the Galwan river. The post gave the Chinese better position to target the vital 255-km Darbuk Shayok Daulat Baig Oldie (DSDBO), India’s only link to Depsang, Murgo and Karakoram Pass.

The post, some 5 km from the DSDBO road, has been removed but the movement backwards has only been by a couple of kms.

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, June 14

The number of nuclear warheads which are ready and deployed to fire have increased globally, while closer to home, China is in the middle of a significant modernisation and expansion of its nuclear weapon inventory.

India and Pakistan also appear to be expanding their nuclear arsenals, said a report of leading think tank released on Monday.

Swedish think-tank Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) released its “Yearbook 2021”, which assesses the current state of armaments, disarmament and international security. In this report is an 80-page detailed reference on nuclear weapons.https://349fa586fc75bd17dd27c08ddd462460.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-38/html/container.html

“A key finding is that despite an overall decrease in the number of nuclear warheads in 2020, more have been deployed with operational forces,” the report said.

The world has nine declared nuclear-armed states — the US, Russia, the UK, France, China, India, Pakistan, Israel and the North Korea — which together possess an estimated 13,080 nuclear weapons at the start of 2021. This marked a decrease from the 13,400 that SIPRI estimated these states possessed at the beginning of 2020.

Despite this overall decrease, the estimated number of nuclear weapons currently deployed with operational forces increased to 3,825 from 3,720 last year.

Around 2,000 of these — nearly all of which belonged to Russia or the USA — were kept in a state of high operational alert. The UK and France are the other two who have deployed warheads. China, India and Pakistan are not listed in the report as having “deployed” such weapons with operational forces.https://349fa586fc75bd17dd27c08ddd462460.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-38/html/container.html

“The overall number of warheads in global military stockpiles now appears to be increasing, a worrisome sign that the declining trend that has characterised global nuclear arsenals since the end of the cold war has stalled,” said Hans M Kristensen, Associate Senior Fellow with SIPRI’s nuclear disarmament, arms control and non-proliferation programme.

Russia and the US together possess over 90 per cent of global nuclear weapons. Both have extensive programmes under way to modernise their nuclear warheads, missile and aircraft delivery systems and production facilities.

Lt. Gen. R.P.Singh.
GOC-in-C Western Command Chandimandir

Subject:Hard Times are yet to come. SOLDIERS including their AMC FRATERNITY has to remain BATTLE WORTHY ALWAYS and EVERYTIME.

Dear General,

1. I take the liberty to thank your URO TEAM headed by Col. Amit Agarwal of Command Hospital for conducting  successful operation on me on 03rd June 2021.

2. I do hope ECHS will reimburse the Medical expenses incurred on me by Command Hospital Chandimandir. However, I do make a effort to reimburse a token sum of these Medical expenses incurred on my Operation less after surgery care which was largely done by me.For this; I enclose a Cheque of Rs. Five Thousand only in favour of GOC-in-C which can be utilsed to replace worn out mattresses from Officer’s ward or buy cutlery and glasses for Officer ward where one could find Singapore Air Line Fork and spoons/ forks of numerous varieties which are never found in Officers Mess.

3. That I wish I could donate atleast one wheel chair to Command Hospital as I saw a  wornout chair being offered to a Officer Patient on discharge.My meager military penson prevents me from donating Wheel Chair so as to make two ends to meet honourably. My brother Veteran Officers should come out for suçh nobel ventures. The Government will always keep Armed Forces without sufficeint funds but will not shy away from using limited resources of Armed Forces be it of even Medical at the costs of Soldiers.

4. That I am aware that for setting up Covid Pandemic Hospitals the meagre manpower resources of Army Hospitals have been over taxed by civilian Centre/State governments and trained  Doctors and  nursing staff is deployed in these Covid Hospitals. But with ever increasing Black Fungus disease and likely THIRD WAVE of Covid Pandemic; the Army Medical resources will continue to be in use by civilians  for long time due to ever ailing civil health structure where Union of India in last 72 years has pumped in Millions-Billions of rupees of tax payers mlney which has gone down the drain in pockets of ruling elite and their henchmen. The Center/State Governments may not reimburse such Army Hospital expenditure and if they do paper reimbursement then it will never reach the end expense making Army Hospitals/ Formations who will also rely on their alloted Army budget in order to shape up teeming millions who suffered the Pandemic largely due to could not care attitude of ruling Governments who still take it as a Law and Order problem and not Medical problem and still sleeping to shore up health infrastructure and does not allot  atleast 6.8% GDP budget to health infrastructure of India where there are some primary health Centers/ sub centers in a thatched huts and some with no DOCTOR and some in next to cattlesheds.Even as late as 2020-21, defecting medical equipment like Oxygen Concentrators etc were purçhased by Government machinary for civil Hospitals and one Government sold off Vaccine at a profit to private hospitals only to cancel its order after hue and cry but did not punush the Health authorities who made this profit making venture that too during ongoing Pandemics.  Their corrupt show  goes on from 1947 to 2021, i.e. YEH KHABHI BHI NAHI SUDERENGE. Anyway coming back to Army systems.

Battle wòrthy of Army Hospitals, dedicated Health care staff and even educate Soldiers to take care of themselves if need be after surgery etc:

5. These Pandemics and during war in take of casualties will be very high. The Health care needs to sustain itself and stand tall in those trying times.Mere entering into Healthcare system does not make one FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE, but there has to be humanity and dedicated commitment from core of heart to take care of patients. A person who can not sustain 8 hourly duty will  put health care of a patient Soldier to gravest risks and efforts of Army  Doctors conducting succesful surgeries will go in vain which will also directly adversely affect the Armed Forces of India who will require their Soldiers made quickly medically fit to rejoin battlefields at the  earliest.Thus all Soldiers should be trained for after surgery self care so that if need arises then they can recover where Nursing system crashes momentarily.
6.  There is no denying the fact that Doctors and Nurses play very vital part in managing the  crises of Patients, of Pandemic and especially of battle casualties during War/battles. Doctors after surgery leave it to nursing staff to provide dedicated health care so that  their Patients recover quickly.
7. The nursing staff are often primary care giver in hospitals. The patient interacts with them especially after surgery during road to recovery.
8. There is a need always of quality health care service to Soldiers and Veterans. Especially during Wars/ battles and Pandemics there is requirement of health care of patients round the clock. Nurses should be well acquainted with ailments specific care. Even the worsening of life style diseases has caught up the Armed Forces where there are increase of ailments like diabetes, high blood pressure and heart ailments. The increase in cardiovascular diseases is frightening.  Proper healthcare by nursing professionals will speed up recovery and reduce load on Doctors and Units will have their Soldiers back. The deep fatigue and anguish especially during war or ongoing Pandemic will need stronger “wìll power” for nursing staff to take care of critical cases, neuro care, operation theater nursing and constant updating of education, among others. The mere fact that Pandemic has put civil health care system on  ventilator and exposed its deplorable conditions, has forced  Army Medical Corps to step in aid of civil, thereby, increasing the burden on already over stretched Army Medical system.

9. FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE SET VERY HIGH STANDARDS OF NURSING WITH THE RESULTS MANY WOUNDED SOLDIERS QUICKLY RECOVERED AND JOINED THEIR COMRADES IN BATTLEFIELDS. Some private Hospitals pay very low wages to Nursing staff. But yet Nurses are prompt and meticulous in answering each and every call of patient, ensuring timely change of drip bottles or timely change/emptying of Urine satchel, providing medical papers, medicine and discharge slips etc on the bedside of the patient and take discharged patient on Wheel chair till exit gate of hospital ensuring patient boards vehicle. Unfortunately all this is found lackig in Command Hospital for best known reasons to their nursing staff. That is why I advocate teaching Soldiers for self care ( if need be) after surgery.

10. It was. very unfortunate that needle fixed for insertion of drip and injections prior to OT was leaking and only patients going to nursing COUNTER and explaining to the nurse then its location was changed. Patient had to ask time and again to change the enpty bottle of drip. He had to pick up empty drip bottle and its pipe in one hand and urine satchel and its pipe in other hand and then go to nursing counter to get the needle of drip system removed from nurse to stop blood flowing from viens of patient to drip pipe. Ultimately he requested the Doctor to put him on drip system for the night only if he can ensure timely replenishment so Doctor stopped the drip and patient that night used oral hydration (drank six bottles of water ) to flush out blood from his urine bladder on which surgery was performed. The person for changing/emptying urine satchel was usually missing even at night and nurse said that he attends seven wards and will only come when he can and you can tell this to Commandsnt also. There was dust on center table of recreation room. Wheel chair given to one discharged Officer patient had torn back and his relative was left to take him from the ward of his own. For medical papers, discharge slip and medicine slips patient is made to shuttle around on two counters of Nursing staff and ward master and discharge is not on displayed time by 1400 hrs. This is inspite of very highly paid nursing staff whuch is well trained by Army at Government expenses, whereas, private hospitals lowely paid nursing staff provide proper and maticulous health care after surgery as brought put above. The Army needs to do quick thinking on this aspect as during war when influx of casualitues will be very high then Soldier Patients will require meticulous and dedicated nursing staff to make these patients battle worthy quickly to rejoin their duties in battlefields at the earliest. Also I am sending cheque of token sum of payment of SURGERY only and not of healthcare after surgery which needs lot of improvement, otherwise we will be doing dis-service to the principles of FLOWRENCE NIGHTINGGALE. Please ensure ECHS reimburses all medical expenditure incurred on me by Command Hospital Chandimandir of which Urologist carried out timely and good surgery on me for which I shall remain ever indebted to Army.

            CONCLUSION

10. That I once again thank Col Amit Agarwal HOD of URO TEAM for prompt and successful surgery on me.
11. Please accept my cheque of Rs. Five Thousand only as discussed above and utilise it for purchase of Mattresses/cutlery/ glasses for Officer’s Ward of Command Hospital Chandimandir.
12. Prepare both Hospitals especially their nursing system to be battle worthy always and everytime on the basic principles of FLOWERANCE NIGHTINGÀLE.
13. Educate Soldiers on self health care after surgery if need be; as and when situation arises due to increase in patients or if someone finds chink in Nursing system then after Surgery healthcare do not suffer.
14. I would request fellow Veterans Officers to donate medical equipment to Army Hospitals or pool in to do so.
15. This is plain speaking by a Soldier so that system improves itself to finest quality and its not a complaint. I have been raisng issues for betterment and upliftment of Able/disabled serving/retired Soldiers, and families, Widows and war Widows at National level since 1994 with lot of success and all at my costs. Please do acknowledge and confirm receipt and action taken telephonically and via revert Email and  by post.
Jai Hind!
(Major Onkar Singh IC-33468N aged 69 years)

Copy to All concerned for widest publicity amongst Veteran Officers to generously  come forwad to augment resources of Army Hospitals as Defence Ministry has not been doing yhis gor ages and leaves noopportunity to use the services of even AMC as bekng done on mass scale for ongoing Pandemic Covid 19 of which third wave may follow soon.
I am sending cheque of Rs. Five Thousand only by post.

Copy also to:
All three Chiefs through their Welfare Directorates of respective HQ

Among alumni Lt Loveneet Singh awarded the bronze medal for standing third in the order of merit

Alumni of the Maharaja Ranjit Singh Armed Forces Preparatory Institute, Mohali, after their passing out parade at the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun on Saturday.

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 12

As many as 12 alumni of the Maharaja Ranjit Singh Armed Forces Preparatory Institute (AFPI), Mohali, were commissioned as Lieutenants from the Indian Military Academy (IMA), Dehradun, on Saturday.

These cadets had joined the institute in 2015 as part of the Fifth AFPI Course for two years. They were selected to join the National Defence Academy, Kharakvasla, in 2017 as part of the 138th NDA Course and on completion of three years of training, proceeded to the IMA for the final year of pre-commission training.

The passing out parade at IMA today for the Spring Term – 2021, which comprised the 148th Regular Course and 131st Technical Graduate Course, was reviewed by the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Command, Lt Gen RP Singh. Among the alumni was Lt Loveneet Singh, who was awarded the bronze medal for standing third in the order of merit.

Maj Gen BS Grewal (retd), Director, AFPI, said so far 162 cadets from the first eight courses at AFPI have joined NDA or other service academies and of these 83 have already been commissioned in the Armed Forces. This includes 68 in the Army, eight in the Navy and seven in the Air Force. Two more cadets are expected to join the Air Force on June 19.

He added that from this year AFPI has commenced the long-awaited Cadet Training Wing programme, which envisages reaching out to selected schools in Punjab for training and motivating their students for joining the armed forces. Over 100 students studying in classes 11 and 12 have already enrolled in this venture which is expected to substantially increase the number of young men joining the armed forces.

Currently, three courses are undergoing training at AFPI. The Ninth Course of 39 cadets has completed its two years of training recently. Selected cadets of this course will be joining the NDA shortly. The Tenth Course of 50 cadets is now studying in Class 12 and will be appearing for the NDA entrance exam in September this year, while the Eleventh Course of 42 cadets commenced training last month.

Since March last year, all training at AFPI has been in the online mode because of the Covid-19 pandemic. This severe restriction notwithstanding, the Institute has been able to send as many 28 cadets to service academies from January 2020 to May 2021.

AFPI alumni have distinguished themselves by winning various awards and medals during training in academies and have also been decorated for gallantry in various operations, including the recent stand-off with China in the Galwan Valley.

Sword of Honour was bagged by Battalion Under Officer Mukesh Kumar from Rajasthan

Lt Loveneet Singh being presented the medal after standing third in order of merit at the Indian Military Academy in Dehradun on Saturday. Photo credit: IMA

Vijay Mohan

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 12

A newly commissioned officer from Punjab has stood third in the order of merit of the Spring Term – 2021 that passed out from the Indian Military Academy (IMA), Dehradun, on Saturday.

Lt Loveneet Singh, who belongs to Moga and is the son of an agriculturalist, has been commissioned into the Sikh Light Infantry. He did his matriculation from Punjab Public School, Nabha, and then joined the Maharaja Ranjit Singh Armed Forces Preparatory Institute (AFPI), Mohali, from where he had proceeded to the National Defence Academy, Kharakvasla. At IMA, he held the appointment of Academy Cadet Adjutant.

The Army today commissioned 341 officers as Lieutenants during the passing out parade of the 148 Regular Course and 131 Technical Graduate Course. Another 84 foreign cadets also passed out of the Academy today, who will be joining the armed forces of their respective countries.

Amongst the highest contributing states, Uttar Pradesh topped the tally with 66 officers followed by Haryana with 38. Uttarakhand had 37 officers while Punjab had 32.  There was no representation from eight states, while some had just a single officer.

The coveted Sword of Honour for being adjudged as the overall best cadet of the term was bagged by Battalion Under Officer Mukesh Kumar from Rajasthan, who also received the silver medal for standing second in the order of merit. The gold medal for standing first went to Academy Under Officer Deepak Singh from Uttarakhand.

The silver medal for standing first in the Technical Graduate Course was presented to Junior Under Officer Daksh Kumar Pant, while the silver medal for standing first among foreign cadets went to Junior Under Officer Kinley Norbu from Bhutan. The Chief of Army Staff’s Banner was awarded to Dograi Company for standing overall first amongst all 16 companies in the IMA.

Exhorting the newly commissioned officers to dedicate themselves to the service of the nation, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Command, Lt Gen RP Singh, who was the parade’s reviewing officer, said that the external and internal challenges that our nation faces from adversarial forces are only set to increase as we rise to take our destined place in the new global order

“These are extremely challenging times while the world battles with the Covid pandemic and witnesses a host of varied conflicts across the world. You are stepping into an era typified by disruptive technologies, blurring definition of threats, expanding domains of conflict and an interplay of multi-polar complexities,” he said. “As warrior leaders of the future, your awareness, proficiency and leadership has to remain extremely dynamic and evolve constantly,” he added.

Congratulating the new officers, Lt Gen Singh said that as they step into the folds of the Army, every bit of what they have imbibed at IMA shall be put to test and everyone has complete confidence that they shall come out with flying colours. Stressing that the Chetwode Motto which accords priority to the nation and the men they command must always remain at the core of their conduct, he said that character, selflessness, empathy, risk taking and firm resolve must guide them as young leaders.https://e4dfc94c399f4a95190fdb98329b7b5c.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-38/html/container.html

The ‘Pipping Ceremony’ that is pinning the badges of rank on the epaulettes, which is traditionally done by the parents of cadets, was done by instructors and staff of the IMA because of restrictions imposed due to Covid-19 protocols. Parents and family members of the passing out cadets could not attend the event.

Among the Indian pass-outs, 315 were from the regular course and 26 from the technical course. The infantry, being the army’s largest arm, got the lion’s share with 125 officers followed by the Artillery with 56 and Engineers with 29.

In addition, there were 84 officers from nine friendly foreign countries. These included 43 were from Afghanistan, 18 from Bhutan and 13 from Tajikistan. Mauritius and Vietnam had sent four and two cadets, respectively, while Maldives, Kyrgyzstan, Tonga and Srilanka had sent one each.

The 35-foot-long boats currently are not fitted with any weapons, but can be equipped with light weapons according to any future requirement.

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New Delhi: The Indian Army has bought 17 flat bottomed boats, the majority of them to be deployed at the Pangong Tso in eastern Ladakh for rapid deployment of troops in case of contingencies, ThePrint has learnt.

The development comes following the months-long standoff with China at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) last year.

While both India and China disengaged from the contentious Pangong Tso area in March this year — after multiple rounds of talks at the military and diplomatic level between the two countries — there has been no further breakthrough, with China refusing to pull back its troops from Hot Springs and Gogra Post.

According to top defence sources, the boats will be procured from Goa-based Aquarius Shipyard Pvt Ltd, the shipyard that built the sailing vessel Thuriya on which Indian Navy’s Commander Abhilash Tomy embarked on the prestigious Golden Globe race from France in 2018.

Similar boats are already in service with the Indian Navy, the sources added.

The delivery of the first few boats has already begun and is set to be completed by September. A majority of them will be inducted in eastern Ladakh for now. The rest could be deployed at other locations, as and when required.

The boats, measuring 35 feet in length, will have the capacity to carry about 20-22 people, including crew. They can move at a speed of 20 knots, which is approximately 37 kmph. A source told ThePrint that while the boats have not been fitted with any weapons at present, they could be equipped with light weapons when needed in the future.

“Made of fibreglass, they would ferry troops across the lake, cutting short earlier time lost while navigating the hilly tracks around the lake,” the source added.

Also read: How India stood its ground and forced China to end Pangong Tso aggression

Ladakh impetus

With the ongoing stalemate at the LAC, the Army is building on its capabilities and infrastructure in the region.

In January, the Army had finalised the procurement of 12 high-performance patrol boats to enhance its surveillance of the Pangong Tso Lake and other large water bodies in eastern Ladakh.https://cddecab253f824e42a78892ad4cdcc3b.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-38/html/container.html

The contract for these 12 patrol boats was inked with Goa Shipyard Ltd, a state-run public sector undertaking, with deliveries set to begin by May this year.

A defence officer explained to ThePrint that the fast patrol boats are required to dominate the lake and reach any enemy boats at the earliest.

“Troop-carrying-boats would be used to move troops and equipment and deploy them on the lake bank in a faster time frame, either to reinforce existing troops there or for fresh deployments,” the officer said.

This is an advantage since traversing along the roads and tracks on the periphery of the lake takes much more time due to terrain friction, the officer said.

With no further disengagement at eastern Ladakh in the last few months, both countries have maintained a high density of troops in the region.

India has kept a heavy troop deployment in the region for any eventuality and reorganised its formations along the LAC for long-term deployment, keeping in view the threat perceptions from the Chinese troops.

(Edited by Manasa Mohan)

Also read: Why the serene Pangong lake lies at the heart of India-China border dispute in Ladakh