Paramilitary veterans to hold protest march, dharna for OROP

The over 8 lakh-strong paramilitary forces are deployed to guard various Indian borders and carry out a variety of internal security duties

An association of ex-paramilitary forces officials has decided to hold a protest march to Parliament and launch an indefinite 'dharna' on March 15 to press for one rank, one pension (OROP) and other service benefits as granted by the government to ex-servicemen recently.

"The association issued a one-month notice to the government on February 10 in this regard," Secretary General of Confederation of Ex-Paramilitary Forces Welfare Association, P S Nair, said in a statement, adding the indefinite dharna will be held at Jantar Mantar.

The association claims to have support of paramilitary forces' veterans from across the country and had also staged protests last year demanding OROP and other service benefits for the personnel of these forces which include those from the Central Reserve Police Force, Border Security Force, Central Industrial Security Force, Indo-Tibetan Border Police and Sashastra Seema Bal.

The over 8 lakh-strong paramilitary forces, also called the Central Armed Police Forces, are deployed to guard various Indian borders and carry out a variety of internal security duties, including conducting anti-Naxal operations, guarding VVIPs and securing vital installations like civil airports and agencies working in the nuclear power and aerospace domain.