The Asian Age

BSF to examine reasons behind troops’ suicides

-

New Delhi, April 22: The Border Security Force ( BSF), that guards India’s frontiers with Pakistan and Bangladesh, has initiated a maiden research project to analyse various triggers behind suicides by its troops and to formulate an action plan to reduce these instances.

The country’s largest border guarding force has also decided to introduce a wellness quotient assessment test in the about 2.5 lakh personnels­trong paramilita­ry after a pilot project launched on the subject last year was found to be successful. BSF director general ( DG) K. K. Sharma told PTI in an interview that the issue of suicides in the force has been “recognised” as a priority area of work and a number of steps are being taken to check and reduce them.

“A research is being conducted on suicides that took place in the BSF during the last 5 years. It will go into the reasons as to why such an instance took place and if there is any common factor?,” the DG said.

He added that a study in this context has already been completed and the final outcomes of all these exercises will be implemente­d as a policy measure in the force, that guards two of the most important Indian frontiers with Pakistan and Bangladesh.

As per official data, a total of 173 BSF personnel have committed suicide in the last five years while 11 such deaths have happened this year. These figures are much more than operationa­l deaths in the line of duty, that took place during the same period.

The jawans of the force are deployed for long stints in inhospitab­le and harsh climate areas along the Indo- Pak and IndoBangla borders, where they cannot keep their families for years together.

The border force chief also informed that the pilot project of the wellness quotient assessment test, introduced last year, has been successful and it will now be linked to the annual medical test of jawans and officers.

 ??  ?? Bollywwod actress Diya Mirza and Yuva Sena chief Aditya Thackery take part in a beach clean up and tree plantation at Dadar Chowpatty in Mumbai on the occasion of World Earth Day on Sunday.
Bollywwod actress Diya Mirza and Yuva Sena chief Aditya Thackery take part in a beach clean up and tree plantation at Dadar Chowpatty in Mumbai on the occasion of World Earth Day on Sunday.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from India