The Indian Army has completed the construction of state-of-the-art habitat facilities in eastern Ladakh, where it is engaged in a military standoff with China’s People’s Liberation Army for more than six months now.
These ‘smart’ accommodations, the execution of which was pushed swiftly by the Prime Minister’s Office and the Defence Ministry, are built in a way that officers and troops deployed in high and super high altitudes, where the temperature goes down to minus 30-40 degrees, continue to get electricity, water and heating facilities. Apart from these smart camps, the Indian Army has also erected the required number of other accommodations to provide the maximum level of comfort to men deployed in such inhospitable terrains. Apart from these, heated tents have also been arranged for troops who are deployed at the front line, to secure the soldiers against the vagaries of nature.
Officials said that even though eight rounds of talks have taken place between the two countries, with China giving hints during the last round about wanting to de-escalate tensions, the Indian Army and the strategists at the MoD are unwilling to take any chances until credible and verifiable steps are taken by the PLA on the ground that matches their words.
The Indian Army, according to official sources, was prepared, logistically and mentally, for the stand-off being extending further. The building of smart and improved accommodations, which are permanent in nature, shows that India is not in a mood to take a step back.
For the last six months, India has bolstered its eastern borders with men and machines at a level never reached before. Both sides have brought in tanks and other artillery equipment near the confrontation lines, apart from other assets that are deployed in the depth areas.
More than 50,000 Indian army personnel are staring at the Chinese forward lines as of today with India demanding the Chinese troops move back from some of the disputed areas that it has come to occupy since May, an action which was done without any provocation, disregarding all past practices that had kept the LAC peaceful and using additional Chinese troops that were ostensibly present in the region for a ‘military exercise’.