Indo-Tibetan Border Police to set up 10 all-women border outposts along India-China LAC
As part of enhancing the role of women combatants, the ITBP is in the process of establishing two all-women BOPs in Ladakh's Lukung and Thangi in Himachal Pradesh.
The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), responsible for guarding India’s 3,488-km Line of Actual Control with China, is setting up 10 all-women border posts along the treacherous, high-altitude frontier, its Director General has said.
This initiative is part of the force's broader "forwardisation" plan, launched following the 2020 Ladakh standoff. So far, the ITBP has relocated 215 of its border posts further forward along India’s northern and eastern flanks.
The DG, Praveen Kumar, announced the developments during the force's 64th Raising Day parade held in Jammu on Saturday. "We have worked on the forwardisation plan and, as a result, the number of forward-deployed BOPs (border outposts) is now 215 as compared to 180. The establishment of seven new battalions and a sector headquarters has not only strengthened this plan (forwardisation) but has also enhanced our reach and supervision of the forward areas...," the DG said.
The Centre had sanctioned seven additional battalions and a sector headquarters for the ITBP in 2023, adding around 9,400 personnel to the force.
ITBP Director General said the force plans to establish 41 more forward bases along the India-China Line of Actual Control (LAC) to further strengthen security and coordination in the region.
As part of expanding the role of women in combat, the ITBP is setting up two all-women Border Outposts (BOPs) at Ladakh’s Lukung and Thangi in Himachal Pradesh. An additional eight all-women BOPs will also be made operational along the frontier.
The DG added that ITBP training institutions have been reorganised, with five new skill modules introduced for personnel, covering areas such as mountain warfare and tactical survival.
With a strength of over one lakh personnel, the ITBP operates border posts situated between 9,000 and 14,000 feet, where troops contend with harsh weather and low oxygen levels.
Raised in 1962, the force functions under the Union Home Ministry and is responsible for guarding the 3,488-km-long LAC with China.
(With PTI inputs)