ITBP's new team to man water bodies along China border

The Indo-Tibetan Border Police, deployed along the country's border with China, on Tuesday announced the formation of its water wing to man lakes, rivers and hot springs in the Himalayan region.

The water wing will help the border force man the Pangong Lake, whose one-third portion is in north of Ladakh in Jammu and Kashmir, Indus River and some of the hot springs and rivers in northeast.

This was announced by Director General of ITBP R K Bhatia. He had initiated the process of setting up a separate water wing to man the boundary with China.

During the year, the intelligence wing of the force has been reorganised while a new water wing has been formed, Bhatia said in his speech to officers and jawans of the force.

The newly-formed water wing will comprise nearly 100 personnel led by a commandant. It will be equipped with mechanised and inflatable boats which will help the force maintain round-the-clock vigil of water bodies along the border and the Line of Actual Control.

ITBP was so far dependent on the Army for manning the water bodies.

The force had earlier given the sanction for the setting up of an exclusive intelligence wing which will generate information along the crucial Sino-Indian frontier.

In order to meet the growing requirements of the ITBP, deployed along the 3,488-kilometres Indo-China border as a primary vigil force, the government has approved a Rs 3,000 crore modernisation plan.