ITBP DG embarks on 100-km march with message for fitness

ITBP chief S S Deswal on Friday embarked upon a 100-km speed march between Bikaner and Jodhpur in Rajasthan to spread the message of 'Fit India' for his troops and others, officials said.

Deswal, 58, is a walking and fitness enthusiast and has undertaken numerous such treks in the past.

"The Director General has embarked on the latest speed march on Friday from Bikaner in Rajasthan. It will culminate on Saturday in Jodhpur. Senior officials of the force are accompanying the chief in the march which will have halting points at various locations over the 100-km route," a senior ITBP officer said.

The march, he said, aimed at promoting the 'Fit India' mission of the government and also to encourage force personnel and the youth to engage in physical exercises and remain fit, he said.

Deswal, a 1984-batch Indian Police Service officer of the Haryana cadre, has earlier undertaken such treks along the Bhrigu lake at over 14,000 feet and Sangla Valley in Himachal Pradesh, Amarnath Yatra, Lipulekh pass at the height of over 17,000 feet in Uttarakhand, a 42-km trek with personnel under training at the forces' academy in Mussoorie and Puri-Konark sea beach walk of 52 kms among others.

The about 90,000-personnel strong Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) is a border guarding force with the primary task of guarding the 3,488-km Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China. It functions under the Union Home Ministry.