BSF to provide special shoes to jawans at Attari

AMRITSAR: Border Security Force (BSF) has dropped the plan to rubberize nearly 100 feet long road stretch at Attari, where BSF personnel perform the synchronized daily drill with jawans of Pak Rangers during the flag lowering ceremony.

The personnel will be provided specially fabricated shoes to reduce the impact of stomping during the ceremony. The troops often complain about brain and knee injuries due to the stomping of their heavy shoes on hard road while performing the drill.

"We are not rubberizing the stretch but will provide specially fabricated shoes made with a particular material to protect jawans from any injuries," said BSF inspector general, frontier, A K Tomar.

The exercise, during which the soldiers exchange fiery glances, tweak moustaches, raise legs up to shoulder level, jerk heads and arms, draws droves of Indian and Pakistani tourists on both the sides of the border.

Tomar said BSF had talked to shoe technologists as well as manufacturers and now the trials are being held before providing them to the jawans.

BSF's earlier plan was to rubberize the road but that would not have given the desired effect so the officials decided to lay wooden slabs covered by rubberized material. "That too would not have worked for long, the road could get damage due to movement of passenger buses, so we decided to replace the shoes," said Tomar.

In the past, the BSF had also taken an initiative to do away with the aggressive gestures and shoulder high kicks as one of the preventive measures but the idea was not accepted by Pak Rangers.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chandigarh/BSF-to-provide-special-shoes-to-jawans-at-Attari/articleshow/36594124.cms