Bachendri Pal urges government for adequate facilities to jawans

JAMSHEDPUR: The first Indian (rpt Indian) woman to conquer world's highest summit Mt Everest, Bachendri Pal today urged the Centre to provide adequate facilities, including drinking water and good quality sunglasses, to jawans discharging their duty on the border.

In a letter to the Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh early this month after she returned from an all women expedition across Thar Desert, a joint venture expedition between Tata Steel and BSF, Pal stated that she wanted to draw the attention of the government towards the jawans discharging their responsibility in a 'pitiable' condition on the borders.

"My sole motive behind writing this letter was to urge the government to improve the basic facilities such as drinking water, proper temporary shelters and good quality sunglasses," Pal, Chief of Tata Steel Adventure Foundation, said releasing the letter to the press.

In order to kick-start BSF's Golden Jubilee Celebration in 2015, Pal said she had agreed to lead a 27-member all women (comprising 14 women from Jharkhand, Odisha, Gujarat, Uttarakhan and 13-members from BSF) expedition across Thar desert, which was a re-run of her all Indian Women expedition of 2007, after BSF approached her in this regard in February.

The highlight of the expedition was three-fold: to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of BSF, to disseminate Women Empowerment and to give a message of hope to the populace all along the border villages, Pal said, adding that the team had successfully touched upon all these points during their expedition.

She, however, said she was saddened to see the pitiable condition of the jawans discharging their responsibility.