BSF starts women constables recruitment

Jalandhar, Jun 11 (UNI) The first ever recruitment of women constables in Border Security Force (BSF) for general duty (GD) cadre has started at BSF Punjab Frontier Headquarters here today.

BSF Additional DIG Jagir Singh Sran said the recruitment process would continue for four days to select 685 women constables.

Approximately 8500 candidates had applied for the posts out of which 3000 applications had been found valid. A recruitment board consisting of one Commandant, three officers had been constituted for the purpose, he added.

More girls from border districts of the state including Amritsar, Gurdaspur, Pathankot and Ferozepur have come forward for the recruitment, he said.

The ADIG said these constables, after providing 36 weeks of basic training at one of the BSF's subsidiary training centers, would be deployed on the Northwest border outposts for frisking women folk going ahead of fencing on the international border with Pakistan to assist their families in cultivation of land.

He said in the absence of any mechanism for frisking of ladies, need for women constables in the border guarding force was strongly felt, which would help BSF in finding those women who smuggle narcotics from across the fence.

''There are nearly 3000 gates installed in the fence along the Punjab border and approximately 32,000 acre of land is being cultivated by the farmers across the fence,'' he informed.

The recruitment of women constables would enhance the operational profile of the force as well as facilitate the working of civilian women folk across the fencing more conveniently, he hoped.

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