Cake and half-day off for troops on birthday

new delhi — The Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force (ITBP), which mans India’s frontier with China, has decided to grant troopers a half-day off and freedom to remain off uniform on their birthday with cake-cutting as part of a new measure to bolster the morale of the personnel who spend considerable time on duty away from home.

A beginning was made recently at a number of formations of the 90,000-strong border guarding force. According an order issued by the commanding officer of the 51st battalion of the force, deployed in Punjab’s Patiala, the unit notice board will henceforth mention the name of the birthday boy or girl and the personnel will be greeted with a bouquet by a senior official.

The unit will celebrate the occasion with a cake-cutting and snacks treat. The troopers, who will not be in uniform, will also be allowed to wear their best dress and take a half-day off if there are no pressing assignments, the order said.

“Happiness increases when we share it. As our jawans have to live away from their families for long owing to the nature of our task, we have decided to make their birthday special,” the order accessed by PTI said. “This will boost their morale and enhance camaraderie in the unit,” it said.

At the ITBP’s ‘animal transport’ wing in a forward area of Arunachal Pradesh in Lohit district, deputy inspector general (DIG) Sudhakar Natrajan has issued directions that no birthday will be missed if the trooper is not on leave or assignment

and is present in the unit. It recently celebrated the birthday of constables Roshan and Pankaj who turned 28 on August 10.

“The aim of this move is to make sure that the jawans do not miss their families and as a result their morale is kept high,” a senior official said.

Other units of the force across

the country have been asked by the ITBP headquarters to undertake these measures as per their convenience and nature of duties and deployment.

Natrajan has also begun sending a ‘report card’ and a personal thankyou note to the parents of the jawans who sent their wards to serve the paramilitary force. —