Indian Army troops to get hi-tech shelters by 2012

 (IANS) : Several thousand Indian Army soldiers posted in rugged mountain terrain of Jammu and Kashmir along the borders with Pakistan and China will now be able to stay comfortably with the military commanders conferrence here deciding to provide them ‘plush’ hi-tech shelters by 2012.
The move comes following the success of a pilot project with the modern, eco-friendly shelters that the army launched in 2010, according to officers in the army headquarters here Thursday.
The army commanders conference, that began here Monday, concludes Friday.
The project was launched after Defence Minister A.K. Antony’s visit to the forward areas, when such a request was made by soldiers, who had to vacate their posts for six months during winter due to the inhospitable weather.
‘The army commanders discussed the necessity to improve habitat in difficult areas. While there have been incremental efforts to improve the infrastructure along border areas, a pilot project was initiated for a quantum jump in improvement of habitat, which becomes the most important factor to boost the morale of all ranks,’ a defence ministry statement said.
The pilot project, implemented in posts at heights over 14,000 feet, had improved the satisfaction levels of troops deployed in difficult terrain and bad weather conditions in high altitude areas where the temperature dips to minus 50 degrees Celsius in winter.
The project involved construction of plush-looking, insulated shelters at various posts on the borders on ‘an incremental module’ concept using technologies suitable to the terrain and weather conditions.
‘These hi-tech shelters will not only improve the living conditions of troops manifold, but will also have a direct bearing on the individual capacities to perform their tasks better, since terrain and weather impose severe restrictions on all ranks,’ the statement said.
The ‘light-weight, modular, pre-fabricated’ shelters require minimum logistical and transportation efforts and are an apt answer to the climatic challenges that officers and soldiers face.
In consonance with the armed forces efforts to go green, special emphasis has been laid in designing the shelters on incorporating appropriate active and passive measures for energy conservation. The special design also maximises sun light exposure and minimises heat loss to keep the troops warm under extreme cold temperatures.
In addition, various types of bio-digesters, sewage treatment plants, and composting toilets are being constructed to ensure better sewage disposal in extreme cold climatic conditions.
In July, an army major and a lieutenant were burnt to death and four soldiers were injured in a fire at their fibreglass bunker on the Siachen Glacier, the world’s highest battlefield.
‘Such accidents can be prevented in these new shelters, as these would be centrally heated, and there would be no fire sources that results in the burning of the shelters,’ they said.

- News One