Exclusive/ Compelling Tale of Jawans From Arunachal: How Forces are Keeping Themselves Battle-Ready in LAC

Siang: On the day of Republic Day, Republic brings a special report from the extreme terrains of Arunachal Pradesh, which is covered by fast-flowing streams from Brahmaputra and dense forests. The terrain is extremely crucial as it lies along the LAC in China. What makes patrolling in the area more challenging are the dangerous and merciless streams of Siang river, the other name for Brahmaputra in Arunachali. The jawans posted there told Republic that the most challenging task is to navigate through the fast-flowing streams.

 
Revealing the techniques used by the jawans to navigate through the difficult terrains, the jawans told that they use river crossing methods as there are no bridges. In order to cross water bodies, we either use ropes or build a long bridge naturally.

Major Challenges

As the monsoon lasts for 10 months, the major challenge is crossing these water bodies. Talking about this, a Major in the Indian Army, overlooking the practise system, told Republic, "During monsoon, the water level rises by another 10 to 15 meter. So, to cover that we give appropriate training to Jawans. We make our own roads. We build a bridge out of rope. Wherever a rope bridge is not possible, we make build bridges out of logs."

Republic also got inside an integrated defence locality here, the first of its kind in India. The defence system is  internally connected. Soldiers can travel safely as a result. A rocket launching pad is stationed, the aerial decision of which is 1 km. The defence facility, which is located in the forward position of the Indian Army along the LAC, helps Jawans keep round-the-clock vigil of each and every movement that happens on all raods leading up to the LAC. The facility is a 750 meters of network built and is the first such project.

How do Jawans Keep Morale High

"When we assume the uniform, our morale is normally high. Due to the difficult terrains, our daily routines and training keep our morale high. We engage in war games and exercises to keep ourselves physically fit. We stay in touch with family with improved connectivity," a Jawan manning the the integrated defence facility told Republic, further adding, "Routine physical task keeps us agile and battle-ready. With improved mobile, road and air connectivity, our Jawans can stay in touch regularly with their families. We derive a lot of confidence after training in new equipment and technology.

Patrolling During Night Time - Danger From Wild Animals

Patrolling during night time turns even more challenging in each terrain. Rahul, leading the night patrol, told Republic, "Rocks are quite steep. There is deep forest all around. Due to heavy rainfall, there are a lot of streams and river and lot of threat from wild animals, especially wolves and bears. Next to ice, we encounter wild yaks as well. We have to stay on our feet all the time. Especially at nigh, we have to secure our camp from attacks from wild animals
 

(With inputs from Anirudha Bhakat)