The Indian Army creates habitats for more than 20,000 troops in Ladakh closer to LAC

NEW DELHI: Indian Army has completed the creation of habitats for more than 20,000 soldiers foreseeing the tensions along the Eastern Ladakh getting protracted. There are two stage preparations right at the front, closer to the Line of Actual Control, and in deeper areas, to react as and when the troop beef up is required at the front.

A senior Army officer said, “We inducted more engineer troops to complete all operational requirements and have completed the temporary defence closer to the Line of Actual Control and also Arctic Tents have been erected to meet the conditions of high altitude and sub-zero temperatures.”

Also, prefabricated structures in the rear, located a little deeper, have been raised for the troops positioned to quickly react whenever the Chinese try to gain numerical superiority.

These habitats have a heating mechanism to avoid the extreme cold.

Every soldier in the forward areas have been provided with Special Clothing and Mountaineering Equipment (SCME) with each kit costing more than rupees one lakh, told the officer.

Major General SB Asthana (Retd), Defence Analyst says, “For faster needs in such contingencies Director Generals of Military Operations (MO), Military Intelligence (MI) and Operations and Logistics (OL) under the Vice Chief give direction to the other directorates”.

MI gets the information, MO makes the operational plan and OL provides the logistics support under the Vice Chief of Army Staff, the highest coordinating agency in the Army among the various commands, and the Army Headquarter.

All material requirements including fuel, ration, ammunition, and other things have been stocked at various echelons.

The forwards area troops have extra stocks to meet requirements for more than 15 days, while those in the rear are equipped with an extra stock of more than a week.

Also, the stocking is placed in a manner so that it reaches its point of need within 24 hours once the need is felt, briefed the officer.

Indian Army is fully prepared in terms of troop requirements and the associated arms, ammunition, and equipment for winter deployment all along the Line of Actual Control.

More than 40,000 soldiers of India and China have been locked in a standoff position since the first week of May.