Defence Ministry Says Parliamentary Panel’s Visit To Leh ‘Not Advisable’
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The Defence Ministry has informed a parliamentary committee that the panel’s proposed visit to Leh next month to analyse the working conditions and facilities provided to soldiers in high-altitude areas wouldn’t be advisable now, sources said. Members of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) are examining a CAG report on the Sino-India Border Roads, and another report on the provisioning and procurement of high- altitude clothing, equipment, ration and housing for soldiers.
Top officials of the government, including CDS General Bipin Rawat, have appeared before the panel chaired by Congress leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on the issue. When contacted, Chowdhury said parliamentary panel members wanted to visit Leh to know the ground realities of the infrastructure and the clothing provided to armed forces posted at high-altitudes. The sources said the Defence Ministry has informed the PAC that it may not be advisable to visit Ladakh now as the Army is engaged in the situation on the border.
They also said there were some members in the panel who were not in favour of the move to visit frontal areas at Leh due to tough weather conditions and as it would add additional pressure on the fully engaged forces there. There are 20 members in the PAC as of now and a majority of them are from the BJP.
Tension with China is at the peak and the government has given full permission to tackle any Chinese activity. The situation becomes more worst as the weather in the region is very harsh. According to some recent sources, nearly 10 Chinese soldiers lost their lives as the weather changes along the line of actual control(LAC). Meanwhile, this doesn’t mean that because of the weather and many other reasons the Indian side is weak. The Indian armed forces are ready to give a strong reply and can handle any situation.