Preparedness at full swing along LAC to tackle situation

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Indian Army's preparedness is at the full swing along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) where the situation remains tense after the 73-day Doklam long standoff.

Amid harsh weather condition, difficult terrains and lack of communication facilities; army jawans go through rigorous training and drills every day at Tezu Transit Camp to keep themselves ready to face challenges from China.

Talking about the importance of drills, Lt. Col Avik Saxena said that they have to keep all the aspects in mind to channelize their work in the area while designing drills.

"There are incessant rains here. The climatic conditions are not conducive; we have got limited daylight hours available here. Apart from this, there are communication issues also. We do ascertain all these factors while planning drills," Lt. Col Saxena said.

He said that this is the reason the convoy management and drills are very-very important.

During the drills, jawans are trained to act even if they don't have communication systems.

Being posted in the interior portion where the communication facility is not well developed, Lt Col Saxena said that the army has established transit camp at particular places where the troops halt at the end of the day so that communication could be done in a smooth manner.

Tyrolean traverse, tightrope walking, hurdle, shooting, mountaineering are part of day-to-day drills performed by the troops here.

The Army even conducts Long Range Patrol (LRP) to keep an eye on the LAC area.

A LRP team at times covers more than 100 kilometers in one go, which lasts for 20 or more days.

Each jawan carries around a 22kg load on his shoulders during patrolling.

The bag carried by the jawans contains thing like sleeping bags, torch, food items, first aid kit and other things, which is needed during their journey.

Explaining the entire journey, Lt Col Pushpinder Singh said that, "After walking for 8-10 hours, halting is important. It is made sure that the jawans get rest at night."

To maintain the sanctity of the LAC, patrolling is launched which takes them to mountain tips and LAC.

Artillery Gun Drill is also an important exercise carried out by the soldiers here.

Colonel Anil said that the jawans carry out the exercise after they receive an alert from another camp.

A team of doctors is also part of this exercise, which provides medical assistance to the soldiers at the time of emergency.

Discussing the various health-related problems faced by the jawans, Medical Officer Captain (Dr) Sukanya said, "Jawans face many problems like hypoxia, hypertension, high blood pressure, shoulder dislocation."

She said doctors provide first aid to the jawans at the time of emergency.