BIKANER, May 26 : Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday inaugurated 14 barracks for women personnel of the BSF at a border outpost in Rajasthan’s Bikaner district, asserting that the government is committed to ensuring equal participation and opportunities for women in all fields, including border security.
Addressing BSF personnel at the Sanchu border outpost, Shah said previous governments had not paid adequate attention to the role of women in border security and the facilities required for them.
All necessary facilities for women deployed in border areas would be ensured by 2030, the minister said.
Women personnel’s contribution to national security was “two steps ahead” of men, he added.
Shah said 79 barracks for women personnel have been sanctioned in Rajasthan and construction of 67 has already been completed at a cost of around Rs 39 crore. Fourteen barracks were inaugurated on Tuesday, he said.
He added that 356 barracks would be constructed along BSF-guarded border areas at a cost of around Rs 200 crore to improve deployment conditions for women personnel.
The home minister also said construction of a lateral road across the Rajasthan desert has begun. He said the 1,096-km-long lateral road and a 520-km-long axial road would improve connectivity and provide better facilities to BSF personnel.
Work on new-design fencing was also underway and piped drinking water supply to nearly 180 border posts in Rajasthan has been completed, he said.
Shah said the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) have made a major contribution to environmental conservation through plantation drives. He said CAPF personnel planted nearly 7.35 crore trees over the last five years.
“The plantation drive would prove beneficial in view of climate change and rising temperatures,” he said.
The home minister also planted a Khejri sapling and described the tree as a significant tree for desert regions. (PTI)
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