Border Security Force: India
This is a collection of articles archived for the excellence of their content. |
Contents |
BSF brief history of 50 years; killed 2,000 militants
The Times of India, Oct 22 2015
BSF killed 2,000 militants in 50 yrs
The Border Security Force, born exactly 50 years ago, has caught around 9,000 militants and killed 2,000 of them, mostly on the border with Pakistan. Some of the prominent names among terrorists caught by BSF , as shown in a documentary film unveiled by the force at Vigyan Bhawan on Wednesday , include J&K separatist leader Yasin Malik, and two dreaded terrorists -Maulana Masood Azhar and Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar -released by Indian agencies in exchange for passengers of hijacked IC-814 flight.
Home minister Rajnath Singh released a commemorative stamp to mark 50 years of raising of the force on Wednes day , which is also marked as police commemoration day .He also honoured the families of the martyrs of the force.
Officials said that BSF has lost 1,551 men in the battles and in the line of duty on borders, out of which 1,000 have died in J&K border alone. The government has awarded one Mahavir Chakra, 11 Veer Chakra, 4 Kirt Chakra, 12 Shourya Chakra 231 President Police Medal fo gallantry and 870 police meda for gallantry to the force. Celebrating the golden ju bilee of BSF, a Rs 5 stamp wa also released which depict BSF's camel patrol in the ho deserts of Thar in Rajasthan
BSF’s air wing
The Times of IndiaDec 23 2015
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
BSF has an air wing since 1969, which has a fleet of four fixed wing aircraft -one Embraer, two Avros and the crashed Superking (SKA B-200). It also has 15 helicopters consisting of six MI-17 1V , two advanced Mi-17 V5 choppers, six Advance Light Helicopters (Dhruv) and one Cheetah helicopter.
BSF planes and helicopters, which operate under MHA's command, are usually deployed for Naxal operations, disasters like earthquake and floods, ferrying senior rank officials and politicians for important events.
The medium-lift helicopters (MLH) MI-17 1V fleet was inducted in BSF in 2003. These helicopters were procured under the J&K action plan. Earlier this fleet was mainly used for air logistics and communication tasks. However, in the last few years their employment and the scope of their utilisation has extended.
BSF's air wing has its bases at New Delhi, Raipur, Ranchi, Agartala and Srinagar, with fixed-wing operations only from Delhi.
In fact, the Superking, which was inducted in 1994 in the BSF, has been extensively used by the force in the last 20 years. The same plane reportedly went to Kutch, Gujarat, where Intelligence Bureau held its DGIG conference, which was attended by PM Narendra Modi and home minister Rajnath Singh as well.
Plane of same make crashed in '92
The Times of India Jan 01 2016
Saurabh Sinha
Was Probably First Pilot-Caused Accident In Country
Nearly 10 days after a Border Security Force (BSF) Super King Air B-200 aircraft crashed at IGI Airport killing 10 people on board, it has emerged that another BSF plane of the same make had crashed at Delhi Airport in August 1992 also.While last week's crash was caused due to a serious technical failure, the 1992 crash may have been the first pilotcaused crash in India.
TOI has accessed the Directorate General of Civil Aviation's report of that crash, which states the pilot had asked the co-pilot to get off the plane on the runway; took off alone without air traffic cont rol (ATC) clearance and seconds later the plane crashed.
“BSF Beechcraft B-200 Super King aircraft (VT-EOA) was engaged in local flying (circuits and landings) at IGI Airport on August 27, 1992.There were two people on bo ard, including the commander. After two circuits and landings, the commander asked for full stop landing. However, after landing, the commander asked the ATC about one more circuit to which the controller gave consent and asked him to line up on runway 28,“ the report states.
“The aircraft took off without clearance and turned left for circuit. It was then seen nosediving and hit the ground. It caught fire and was destroyed,“ it says, adding that the pilot--the only one on board was fatally injured.
The DGCA probe found a probable cause of this accident. “The exact cause of the accident could not be confirmed. However, on the basis of evidence on record, the probability of deliberate attempt to crash the aircraft by the late captain could not be ruled out. The probability of incapacitation of the captain during the last circuit has also not been ruled out,“ the DGCA report says.
Personnel issues
Causes for death
Heart attacks, road accidents cause 30% of deaths
The Times of India, Apr 25 2016
Heart attacks, road accidents cause 30% of BSF deaths a yr
In a worrying trend, the Border Security Force (BSF) has found that heart diseases or road accidents account for nearly 30% of deaths of its personnel annually.
BSF director general K K Sharma, in an interaction with troops along the International Border (IB) in Jaisalmer, asked them to adopt healthy lifestyles and drive safely.
He said figures showed that out of about 400 deaths taking place in a year in the country's largest border guarding force, 70 were because of heart attacks and about 50 due to vehicular accidents.
From: Neeraj Chauhan, Work stress could be reason for suicides in BSF, says study, December 24, 2017: The Times of India
A study conducted by Border Security Force (BSF) suggests that the sentinels of the country’s borders are not living in very good conditions and are unhappy with certain facilities which could have helped reduce their occupational stress. This in turn could be leading to suicides/fratricides and personnel leaving the job without thinking about their future.
Conducted by Gyaneshwar Singh, second-in-command of 166th battalion at BSF’s North Bengal Frontier, the study looks at the level of occupational stress in the force due to non-operational factors (non-work stressors).
“Occupational stress is impelling the personnel either to take the extreme step of suicide/fratricide to overcome the stress, or to leave the job without having any certainty about their future,” says the study, which has been approved by the top brass of BSF, the two lakh strong force which guards India’s borders with Pakistan and Bangladesh.
Talking about the trust deficit among senior command and lower ranks in the force, the BSF study says that there is a need to develop a culture of open expression and regular dialogue between the commanders and those under their command (jawans), “which is (presently) missing in the organisation”. It goes on to say that the present relationship in BSF between commanders and lower ranks is of “authoritarian” nature, which is a one way system.
The research has looked at living conditions of jawans at the borders and other places of posting, their families, finances, and relationship with seniors to establish how these things lead to occupational stress.
About the living barracks of jawans, the study says that around 43.7% of personnel have termed the conditions of living barracks (at places of posting) as ‘satisfactory,’ while 20.4% have said it is ‘bad’ and 4.8% claim it is ‘very bad’. Only 7.6 % BSF personnel have rated the living barracks as “very good” while 22.6 % have rated them as “good”. About 94.5% BSF personnel have stated that they need cleanliness in toilets, numbers of cots and fans increased at the barracks.
The living conditions of jawans and the fact that they get less time to sleep adds to their woes and hence their motivational level is really affected, which further causes “stress”, it says. The command level officers interviewed by researchers agreed even though they make efforts to provide the basic amenities to the troops deployed on border but “there are always one or the other limitation”. “It is true that we haven’t been able to provide comfortable and healthy living conditions on border,” the senior officers admit.
On whether the jawans are appreciated for their work or not, it says that 51% personnel feel that their work is not appreciated whle about 42% feel it is appreciated.
“It is an important factor which has direct bearing on the motivation and morale. Some troops opine that the task assigned to them are fulfilled with great zeal and enthusiasm but no recognition is shown towards them,” the study says.
Asserting that ‘family’ is the main non-operational factor which is the strongest ‘stressor’ for occupational stress in the force, the study says, “There are various issues related to family. It is not only the separation from the family but their well-being and settlement also raises a worry for the person who is deployed at border.” “…..the occupational stress has direct bearing on the productivity and motivation of the organisation. Moreover the lesser the motivation, the lesser is the commitment or the involvement which can also be termed as employee engagement,” study says, adding that “occupational stress which has now become a common phenomenon and a subject in discussion.”
Physical training
Yog replaces daily PT drills/ 2016
The Times of India, August 3, 2016
Yoga to replace routine drill for BSF personnel Border Security Force (BSF), the country's largest border guarding force, has decided to replace the routine physical training drills for its personnel with yoga.
The decision to replace the daily 45-minute physical training drills with yoga at all its units was taken by BSF director general K K Sharma after 1,900 personnel of the force recently completed a special training under Baba Ramdev at his facility in Haridwar.
“Yoga has been made mandatory in the force and the jawans and officers will now undergo regular training in this skill.
The routine PT exercises will be replaced by yoga,“ an officer said. He said a committee of senior officers of the force has been constituted that will suggest if, apart from yoga, any other physical exercises are required to be included in the daily regime of the 2.5 lakh personnel-strong force.
Ramdev had conducted a special 10-day session for the personnel of the force at his Patanjali yoga institute. The exercise concluded earlier this week.
KK Sharma had recently said the paramilitary force has decided to “intensify“ yoga training and the aim is to have at least one trainer in this discipline in each platoon-level formation.
