Poonch:
Irrespective of the state of activity at India's borders in Kashmir, our jawans are fighting a battle every day on the front; and this one does not have anything to do with our neighbours.
Thanks to the weather, which can change any moment taking innumerable lives, life for a jawan is not easy in some of the most hostile conditions possible. Nineteen soldiers recently lost their lives in the bitter cold because of an avalanche.
Battling a different enemy along the Line of Control, the jawans in the snow bound areas in the Poonch sector prepare for the night patrol. The drill includes a detailed briefing by a senior solider who knows how to operate in such high altitude areas. Their opponents here are not just armed intruders but hostile conditions as well.
Along the Line of Control, night time is the most crucial time and these soldiers can't lower their vigil. There is about two feet of snow here, but the other thing they need to keep in mind is that on top of the feature there is five meters of snow, and the danger of an avalanche.
Rajiv Kumar, a soldier posted on the line of control says, " Our duty gets tough as the weather changes. If the weather gets bad we need to be more vigilant. Militants can come we have to be more alert".
And after a tough night, these jawans are up before dawn breaks. Heavy snow damages the fence along the Line of Control every year and till its repaired, these jawans have to be on their toes every second.
After early morning patrol and bit of rest, the team is back on duty. This time their destination is on a mountain at a height of about 13,000 feet and that area is avalanche prone.
The troops carry special equipment with them while operating in avalanche prone areas. Among the most crucial of them, is an avalanche victim detector, ropes to stay together and proper clothing... But sometimes, all these precautions aren't enough. Recently a solider slipped on the snow and fell 100 feet down the mountain. Miraculously he survived though with some serious injuries.
Colonel Ganesh Nagarajan of the Indian Army, says, "We have to be constantly on our vigil. We have to dominate each inch of land physically that becomes very difficult during winters as snow makes even existence difficult ".