With the rising number of mountaineers and trekkers in the Himalayas, the Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) will raise five high-altitude rescue teams in the hill states to provide medical help and guidance.
ITBP Director General S.S. Deswal said: “Thehigh-altitude rescue teams will comprise of mountaineers of the force.”
He said: “These teams would be raised in Jammu andKashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh so thatthe force spreads its capabilities to render all kinds of rescue operations,and medical help for adventure tourists in the country.”
Stating that the force was the first responder in suchsituations in the Himalayas, the DG said that the teams would have a goodnumber of trained and sophisticated personnel.On why raising the teams has became necessary,Deswal said: “It has come to our notice that adventure expeditions haveincreased. The peaks and ranges of the Himalayas are very beautiful andtrekkers and mountaineers like them a lot. The numbers of internationaltrekkers and mountaineers have also increased. Seeing this we decided to formhigh-altitude rescue teams.”