In the aftermath of the Pahalgam panic attack, the Union Home Ministry is fast-tracking a connection to revive and modernise Border Wing Home Guards Battalions successful frontier states, aiming to fortify India’s civilian defence infrastructure.
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The battalions — primitively created to service arsenic auxiliary forces to the Indian Army and the Border Security Force (BSF) during times of outer aggression — have, implicit time, go mostly defunct, barring Rajasthan. Officials accidental the units successful respective borderline states are present hardly functional.
Highly placed sources informed The Tribune that the long-pending connection had gained urgency pursuing the April 22 panic onslaught successful Pahalgam, successful which 26 persons were killed, and India’s retaliatory subject operation, Operation Sindoor, against Pakistan. It has besides been spurred by concerns raised during caller national-level mock drills assessing preparedness for outer aggression and earthy disasters.
The drills, conducted connected May 7 and again connected May 31 nether Operation Shield, exposed captious gaps successful the country’s civilian defence readiness, peculiarly successful Punjab, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Jammu & Kashmir. The revived Home Guards program is among the cardinal remedial steps being expedited, officials confirmed.
According to authoritative data, determination are presently 15 Border Wing Home Guards Battalions — six successful Punjab, 4 successful Rajasthan, 2 successful Gujarat and 1 each successful Meghalaya, Tripura and West Bengal. These units are meant to assistance the BSF successful guarding planetary borders and coastal areas, preventing infiltration and protecting captious infrastructure during wartime.
The projected overhaul includes caller recruitment, modernised grooming modules and stricter deployment protocols, making the Home Guards a much effectual civilian defence backup.
Home Guards are raised nether the Home Guards Act and Rules of the states/union territories, comprising citizens from divers backgrounds who unpaid their clip successful work of assemblage information and nationalist preparedness.
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