New Delhi: Red-faced Border Security Force has come out with fresh guidelines for maintaining quality of food given to personnel posted along the border, sources said.
Recently a BSF personnel had posted videos of the poor quality food that is being served to them and asked the nation to share the video as much as possible so that government takes note of the situation under which the BSF personnel have been forced to live. In the video Tej Bahadur Yadav, a BSF soldier had alleged the BSF officials of siphoning the ration allocated to the BSF. He had videographed the burnt parathas and plain lentils served to the BSF soldiers who guard the border round the clock in difficult terrains.
Taking note of the same, the Union Home Ministry directed the BSF to file a complete report on allegations of substandard food made by the soldier posted along the LoC. BSF Director General K K Sharma met Union Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi and submitted a second interim report on the allegations made byTej Bahadur Yadav.
“Issues related to diet of jawans, issues of ration purchase procedures and pilferages thereof are the issues of prime concern for any organisation. BSF has taken a holistic view of the situation and follow -up process has been swung into action (sic),” the statement said and listed audit of prevalent system by team of senior commanding officers as one of the measures.
Among other steps taken by the BSF are chalking out shortcomings of the present process, suggesting procedural and systematic improvements, vigilance for double checks, enhancing formal and informal interactions with jawans and introduction of systemic innovations to ensure cashless transactions in all messes.
In its second interim report, BSF stated that the ‘daal’ shown in the jawan’s video was uncanned from tinned food ration and the ‘parantha’ was cooked in the unit mess as per procedures followed at high-altitude locations.
Sharma conveyed to Mehrishi that the western front commander (Additional DG) of the force along with a dietitian have been rushed to the border post in the state where the jawan was posted for a detailed inquiry.
A final report in this regard is expected to be submitted by the BSF tomorrow after the team of senior officers sent to the spot also finds out the actual “cooking norms, style and distribution” of food to the troops in these areas.
Meanwhile, the BSF had digressed from the main issue and had tried to dismantle Tej Bahadur Yadav by billing him off as a ‘habitula offender’, someone with a difficult past and also someone who had a history of run-ins with the superiors.
The BSF claimed that he was an habitual offender guilty of absenteeism, chronic alcoholism and misbehaviour with officers.
“Constable Tej Bahadur as an individual has a difficult past. From initial days of his career, he needed regular counselling. Different correction mechanics have been applied for the individuals welfare as he was habitual offender of absenteeism without permission, chronic alcoholism, misbehaving and using force with superior officers and certain other acts against good order and discipline. For such reasons, individual has served mostly in headquarters under supervision of some dedicated superior officer,’ the BSF said in a statement.
‘DIG and Commanding officer visited him and other BSF jawans present in strength of about 20 in last one week and there was no complaint from any one,’ the statement said.