EXCLUSIVE The Indian army which is the world’s second largest standing unit, comprising 1.18 million soldiers, by the number of fighting troops is not in a very good shape at present. Army won’t be able to sustain a full-fledged war for more than 20 days.
India’s Army lacks adequate amount of ammunition, tanks, air defence, artillery units and even soldiers. However, Army sources are not ready to acknowledge the revealtion.
As per nomral standards followed in the Army, war wastages reserves (WWR) should be in place keeping in mind 40 days of strong war fighting. Additionally, the duration for the ammunition possessing short-shelf life is three weeks.
Present army Chief Bikram Singh has opined in the past that the Army should possess 50 per cent WWR and three years of training ammunition by 2015 provided budgetary allocation is increased for the country’s Army.
Not only is the Indian Army facing an ammunition crunch even the paramilitary forces of the country including Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) are not doing any better.
INNLIVE published a report in these columns titled “Chinks in the Armour: Red Tapism rules the roost; only 800 helmets saving lives of 85,000 jawans” discussed how our soldiers are severely handicapped by the dearth of fundamental life saving gear, such as bulletproof helmets.
The revelation was first brought to light by INNLIVE. What did the story say? The report says that only 800 helmets are available against the approved 50,000.
A helmet is considered to be one of the most indispensible parts of a defence kit, for a solider fighting in mountains and thick jungles of regions such as Chattisgarh and Jharkhand.
The story clearly points fingers against the inadequate number of life saving bullet proof helmets available with the CRPF personnel deployed in these areas.
After the gruesome March 3 attack at Sukma in Chhattisgarh, in which 15 security personnel, including 11 from the CRPF, were killed – most deaths were caused by bullets hitting the head – questions are being asked more vociferously about the preparedness of our forces.
Had there been adequate number of bullet proof helmets in store with the battalion, many priceless lives could have been saved undoubtedly.
It’s no secret that head of a solider is the most exposed region in a battle of ambush for the opposition fighters.
The report states that only after the recent blood bath the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has decided to procure more bullet-proof helmets for the CRPF men posted in the uprising hit areas.
It’s a standard norm with the defence forces that soldiers deployed in insurgency battered areas must be carrying high quality bulletproof gear including helmets, so as to arrest the number of causalities in such encounters.
Therefore, it can only be concluded that despite being in know of what’s required the most to save invaluable lives of our paramilitary soldiers, who are always susceptible to suicide attacks by the Maoists, our bureaucracy is sleeping comfortable in its lethargic nest with a blanket of red-tape on.
Around 90,000 personnel are serving in the Maoist hit red zone of the country. The number of security personnel killed between 2011 and 2013 was 371 in the states hit by the Maoist violence.
But, the buck doesn’t stop only with the bureaucracy, as the CRPF faces a financial crunch too, which doesn’t allow it to procure items that it requires the most to fight the Maoists and Naxals.
Nothing extraordinary should be expected of a force that only receives Rs. 20 crore out of Rs. 918 crore for 2012-13 and 2013-14 as a part of police modernization program as per latest official figures.
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