Troops given bad food, says BSF jawan

A BSF jawan, deployed along the Indo-Pak border in Jammu and Kashmir, has alleged that troops are facing ‘cruelty’ as they are served bad quality food and even have to go ‘empty stomach’ at times, prompting Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh to order “appropriate action”.

In videos uploaded on social media platforms, the jawan, wearing camouflage uniform and carrying a rifle, claimed that while government procures essentials for them, the higher-ups and officers ‘sell it off’ in an ‘illegal’ manner in the market and they have to suffer.

While the border guarding force said it has initiated an inquiry and sent a Deputy Inspector General rank officer to the place of his deployment, the Home Minister took to Twitter to say he has sought a report.

In at least three different videos clocking over 4-minutes released online, constable T B Yadav (40) of BSF’s 29th battalion also goes on to show the food that is allegedly being served to him.

“We only get a parantha and tea as breakfast and this is without any pickle or vegetables... we slog for 11 hours and at times we have to stand throughout the duty hours. For lunch, we get dal (pulses) which only has ‘haldi’ (turmeric) and salt... with roti. This is the quality of the food we get ... how can a jawan do his duty? “I request the Prime Minister to get this probed.

“... No one shows our plight,” Yadav alleged.