ITBP personnel to get bottles which won’t let water freeze
The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) has procured special water bottles that keep water potable and prevent it from freezing, even in the icy terrains of the IndiaChina border.
“The ITBP has procured around 25,000 such bottles and the force is introducing them in phases. The CRPF is also using these bottles as they keep water cool even in places where the temperature touches 50 degrees Celsius,” said a home ministry official.
The Union home ministry has now issued qualitative requirements (QRs) for the bottles.
The rest of the central paramilitary forces will soon follow suit.
Costing around ₹1,100 a piece, the bottles come with a cap, bowl and cup, which are food grade and neatly packed in a nylon bag with a plastic mug.
The QRs for the bottles were prepared by the Northern India Textile Research Association or NITRA, which was jointly established by the textile ministry and textile industry to conduct applied scientific research and provide support services to the textile industry.
“The paramilitary personnel can heat readymade food items provided to them in the bowl that comes with the bottle. Tea can also be made. Basically, the bottles serve more than one purpose of keeping water at room temperature,” added the official.
ITBP spokesperson Vivek Kumar Pandey said the force was using plastic bottles before that had limited useability.
“But the new bottles will make life a bit easier for our personnel in terms of providing potable water and warm food. If we get favourable report from our field formations, more such bottles will be procured. Initial response is encouraging,” said Pandey.
The Kerala government came out on Friday with an advertisement, justifying police action against the mother of an engineering student who allegedly committed suicide.
The advertisement, published in leading newspapers, said there was no evidence of police “high handedness”.
Titled Jishnu Case: What is propaganda? What is truth?, the advertisement details the steps taken by the state government in the case of Jishnu Pranoy, who was found hanging in the hostel of Thrissur-based Nehru College of Engineering in January.
The Pinarayi Vijayan government had come under attack after police prevented and removed Jishnu’s mother, Mahija, and his family from holding a protest in front of the director general of police’s office here on April 5, alleging delay in booking the accused. Initially, Pranoy’s death was dismissed as a suicide, but after his mother protested, police took up the case again.
Slamming the ad, Jishnu’s mother said, “Right from day one after I lost my son, the case has been turned upside down.” PTI