NEW DELHI, Apr 1:
Faced with questions over the quality of food, the BSF has commissioned an assessment by the DRDO to analyse the quality and quantity of meals being served to jawans and officers of the paramilitary force.
The Border Security Force (BSF) also suggested measures to improve possible shortcomings.
The move comes over a year after a BSF jawan had posted a video on a social media site claiming watery soup-like dal and burnt chappatis were being served to personnel.
BSF Director General (DG) K K Sharma said in an interview that the first-of-its-kind step was taken on the recommendation of a parliamentary panel that took up the issue recently.
“We are getting a study done from a DRDO (Defence Research and Development Organisation) laboratory to analyse the quality of the food being served in BSF messes. These experts are also talking to the personnel who prepare the food, run the unit mess and also those who consume it.
“While a final report is awaited, what we have been made to understand is that both the quality and quantity of our food for jawans and officers has been found to be more than satisfactory as part of the study,” the paramilitary chief said.
The DRDO’s Defence Food Research Laboratory (DFRL) based in Mysore in Karnataka is conducting the assessment.
The DFRL is a special laboratory to conduct research and development related to dietary and nutritional requirements of security personnel.
A parliamentary panel, in its report, had noted that there was an “adverse report on social media” about the quality of food being served to BSF personnel.
“The committee (members) are of the view that providing good quality food to CAPFs (Central Armed Police Forces) personnel is not only necessary to keep them healthy and fit but also for boosting their morale.
“The committee, therefore, recommended that a mechanism be put in place for testing food items being supplied to CAPFs at the source of supply itself, whereby it is tested and certified in respect of nutritional values, hygiene and labelled as fit for consumption,” the report had stated.
Sharma said that an internal inquiry conducted by the BSF after its jawan Tej Bahadur Yadav posted a video on social media claiming bad food was being served, had found that the quality and quantity of food being served was never an issue among the forces’ personnel.
Yadav had in January last year posted a video on Facebook that showed a meal box comprising a watery soup-like dal, which he claimed had only turmeric and salt, and a burnt chapatti.
The DG said three immediate supervisory officers of Yadav’s unit — a Deputy Inspector General (DIG), a Commandant and a Company Commander (Assistant Commandant)– of Yadav’s unit were shifted after the incident as punishment and on grounds of “failure of command.”
The officers did not know that a constable is facing problems and complaining about something, which may or may not be wrong, he said.
“They got to know when the jawan uploaded something (on social media). So, it is the failure of the supervisory officers in having a proper connect with the subordinates. One must know what is happening.
“This was identified as a weakness of the officers and failure of command and they were shifted. This action was not undertaken because the food was bad,” Sharma said.
He said the area along the Line of Control where Yadav was posted is under the operational command of the Army and the food is supplied by them at these locations.
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