7th Pay Commission visited Siachen base
camp and Daulat Beg Oldie and spent considerable time for interacting
with soldiers and asking them about the conditions in one of the
toughest areas of the world…
Pay Commission team visits Siachen to get first-hand experience – India Today article
The 7th Pay Commission visited forward
areas in Jammu and Kashmir, including the world’s highest battlefield on
the Siachen glacier, to get the first-hand feel of the freezing
temperatures and hardship faced by soldiers.
The 16-member team headed by the panel’s
chairman, retired judge A.K. Mathur, spent time at the base camp in
Siachen and went to other forward areas. The three services have
submitted a joint memorandum to the Pay Commission regarding their “wish
list”. The panel will visit other defence installations as it continues
its deliberations till January 1, 2016.
The panel spent considerable time at the
Siachen base camp, interacting with soldiers and asking them about the
conditions in one of the toughest areas of the world. They were also
flown over the glacier and landed at a forward post. The soldiers work
under extreme climatic conditions where the weather is a constant enemy.
The soldiers shared their experience and talked about the harsh
climatic condition they face on the line of duty. The punishing weather
does not allow a person to spend more than a week at the glacier and the
forward posts, they told the panel.
The panel members also witnessed ice craft and mountaineering training being carried out at the Siachen Battle School.
The Pay Commission team also landed at
the advanced landing ground at Daulat Beg Oldie on the border with
China. It is the world’s highest landing strip and air operations in the
rarefied high altitude air are a challenge.
During their visits to the forward
areas, the delegation laid floral wreaths at the Siachen War Memorial,
Kargil War Memorial and the Rezangla War Memorial while paying tributes
to our martyrs, a defence PRO said.
At the Line of Actual Control, the Pay
Commission members interacted with personnel from the Indian Air Force
and Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP).
Officials said the panel will have to
consider the unique situation faced by the jawans, who are exposed to
severe medical conditions because of the inhospitable environment. “The
climate does not suit human habitation but the army jawans are
positioned in the area manning the territory all through the year,” an
official said.
This is only the first round of interaction and more inputs would be sought by the team in the coming months.
Meanwhile, a delegation of the All
Ladakh Central Government Employees (ALCGE), which comprises staff of
Doordarshan, High Altitude Research Centre, Kendriya Vidyalaya, Jawahar
Navodaya Vidyalaya, Institute of Buddhist Studies and Air Force
Authority of India, met Justice Mathur’s team.
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