Paramilitary troops not getting any rest: Pillai

New Delhi, Jan 14 (PTI) Paramilitary forces are notgetting any rest as they are continuously called fordeployments across the country and their burden can onlylessen after state governments fill their vacant ranks,Union Home Secretary Gopal K Pillai said here today.

Pillai said that even the companies (comprising about 100personnel) which are earmarked for training have to bedeployed for various law and order duties once need arises.

"It is a big problem. Many of our central paramilitaryforces are not getting any rest at all... 24X7, 365 daysduty...they are not getting any rest.

"Even our training companies are all the time are pulledinto active duties because of the requirements from thestates," Pillai told reporters on the sidelines of an event.

He was asked if the continuous deployments of theseforces is a big problem.

"Our request to the states is that they have hugevacancies of sanctioned strength... we are asking them to fillup these which are running into lakhs and once the sanctionedstrength is filled up then we will not need to call centralparamilitary forces so often," he said.

Central paramilitaries like CRPF, ITBP, SSB, BSF and CISFregularly deploy their men and women in a company or battalionformat to counter various law and order situations, elections,rallies and other big events in various states, besidesguarding the country''s borders and undertakingcounter-insurgency and anti-Naxal duties.

A battalion has more than 1,000 personnel and is designedon a seven companies pattern out of which one company isearmarked as a ''training company''. The CISF is an exceptionto this battalion format as it deploys its personnel on theneed of strength basis.