Siachen soldiers battle telecom red tapism

By Sandeep Dikshit

NEW DELHI, OCT. 17. The soldiers posted at the highest battlefield in the world - Siachen - not only have to battle the elements but a rule-bound bureaucracy as well. First, the Defence Ministry babus denied them vital equipment. The red tape magically unravelled when the Defence Minister, Mr. George Fernandes, threatened to dispatch the officials to the glacier to witness the inhospitable conditions first-hand.

Now, it is the telecom bureaucracy which is throwing the rule book at the soldiers. As a result, they leave for the icy heights from the brigade headquarters at Partappur without phoning their loved ones back home. Some jawans are reported to have braved blizzards for six hours and returned disappointed because of the heavy rush for the three available STD lines.

The lack of telephone facility is causing considerable distress to the troops who, after reaching Siachen, are completely cut off from the outside world during their 90-day tenure.

Unable to recover dues worth thousands of crores from civilians, the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) severed the phone connections of the Commander and Deputy Commander at the Partappur brigade headquarters for non-payment of bills, the Army sources said. The BSNL chairman and managing director, Dr. D.P.S. Seth, was unavailable for comment while the Communications Minister, Mr. Pramod Mahajan, was occupied with official matters.

According to Army sources, the few STD PCOs opened for the welfare of the troops could not cater to the load of those serving in remote areas. As a result, two phone connections were taken in the name of two senior officials - the Officer Commanding of the 102 Infantry Brigade Signal Company and his deputy. A register was maintained which painstakingly recorded all the calls made by the troops and the concessional 25 per cent rate was collected from all those who made the calls.

However, the rule-bound BSNL refused to acknowledge the fact that the calls were made under the heading ``welfare for the troops'' and wanted to charge the full rate which stood at Rs. 7 lakhs for the period April 1 to May 31. The two phones were disconnected in June with the result that several soldiers heading for the glacier had to make do without making one last call home.

The Army has sought restoration of the two connections and their conversion into full fledged PCOs so that BSNL starts charging 25 per cent of the full rates. However, according to a BSNL official, the two phones have been restored but the STD facility has been withdrawn. This is of little comfort to the soldiers because there are few acquaintances in the vicinity whom they want to call up.

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Section  : National
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