AGARTALA, November 28 (TIWN): Tripura Frontier of Border Security Force (BSF) gears up to celebrate its 49th Raising Day across the state on December 1, said Inspector General of BSF Tripura frontier B.N. Sharma, here today.

Going back to history, Till 1965 India’s borders with Pakistan were manned by the State Armed Police Battalion. Pakistan attacked Sardar Post, Chhar Bet and Beria Bet on 9 April, 1965 in Kutch. This exposed the inadequacy of the State Armed Police to cope with armed aggression due to which the Government of India felt the need for a specialized centrally controlled Border Security Force, which would be armed and trained to man the International Border with Pakistan. As a result of the recommendations of the Committee of Secretaries, the Border Security Force came into existence on 1 Dec, 1965, and Shri K F Rustamji was the first chief and founding father, said IGP B.N. Sharma, here today.

BSF has always displayed the highest standards of professionalism, valor and loyalty to the Nation while defending our borders, countering internal unrest, assisting in natural disasters as well as any other duty assigned to it by the Govt. of India, he added.

"I exhort senior commanders to be just, transparent and firm while dealing with operational and administrative matters, but at the same time, the welfare of all the Force personnel and Redressal of their genuine grievances shall not be overlooked on the pretext of operational or administrative exigencies. It is our collective responsibility to look after the welfare of all the Force personnel.  Their grievances should be redressed properly and on priority in a time bound manner.  Non Redressal of grievances cause stress among the Force personnel.  I firmly believe that the easy accessibility of Commanders and healthy interpersonal relations between Commanders and their under command will greatly help in reducing the stress factor among the troops," he mentioned.

The BSF, in its 49 years of existence, has emerged as an elite force of the country having excelled with distinction in the 1971 war with Pakistan. Its ethos is “Any task, any time, any where” and the BSF has given blood and sweat to execute its motto “Duty Unto Death”, he added.

The concept of border fencing, floodlighting and construction of roads has been introduced with the aim to stop infiltration/infiltration on the Western and Eastern borders, he added.