Adux
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Swiss help for producing clothes for Siachen troops
SUMIR KAUL, SIACHEN, MAY 8 (PTI)
With an aim to improve the condition of troops posted at high altitudes including Saichen, the Government will approach Swiss firms for providing expertise in setting up a unit for manufacturing sleeping bags and jackets for soldiers deployed in inhospitable terrains.
During the recent visit of Defence Minister A K Antony to this frontier post, Defence Production Secretary K P Singh held consultations with senior army officials to ascertain troop requirements before the onset of winter this year.
Singh apprised army officials at closed-door meetings about the strategy adopted by the Government to augment the supply of equipment for troops guarding borders at high- altitudes like Siachen, Kargil, Drass and in Sikkim.
"We will seek their expertise from Swiss firms in setting up manufacturing units in the country which includes setting up of duck farms as sleeping bags and jackets are filled with their feathers," a senior official said here.
The Defence Ministry had been importing sleeping bags, jackets, gloves, socks and some other clothing material from Swiss firms but recently the Director General of Quality Assurance (DGQA) had found some flaws in the products.
The sleeping bags and jackets were found to have irregular distribution of feathers thus forcing the authorities to reject it.
These items were also sent to the Siachen base camp for field trial where also they were rejected after putting through rigid tests and extreme weather condition.
While selecting the sleeping bags or jackets or for that matter anything pertaining to clothing of troops, the DGQA has to ensure that no gaps are left in between for the chilly breeze to slip in through the clothing as this could prove fatal for soldiers, the official said.
The ministry, in the meantime, may post some of its officials from the DGQA and army at the manufacturing units in Switzerland to ensure that the flaws were checked at the initial stage itself, the official said.
The flaws occurred because the Swiss firms, which have been supplying clothing to various armies deployed in extreme cold weather conditions, have started outsourcing manufacturing process.
About setting up of the firms in the country, the official said the government would seek the expertise in setting up of duck farms and other things from Swiss firms before starting indigenous production of sleeping bags and other clothing material for the troops deployed in the high altitudes.
This would also prove beneficial for some of the central para-military forces like the Indo-Tibetan Border Police, who also man inhospitable terrain in Himachal Pradesh, Ladakh and Sikkim, the official added.
http://www.outlookindia.com/pti_news.asp?id=471241
© Copyright PTI. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of any PTI content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without their prior written consent.
SUMIR KAUL, SIACHEN, MAY 8 (PTI)
With an aim to improve the condition of troops posted at high altitudes including Saichen, the Government will approach Swiss firms for providing expertise in setting up a unit for manufacturing sleeping bags and jackets for soldiers deployed in inhospitable terrains.
During the recent visit of Defence Minister A K Antony to this frontier post, Defence Production Secretary K P Singh held consultations with senior army officials to ascertain troop requirements before the onset of winter this year.
Singh apprised army officials at closed-door meetings about the strategy adopted by the Government to augment the supply of equipment for troops guarding borders at high- altitudes like Siachen, Kargil, Drass and in Sikkim.
"We will seek their expertise from Swiss firms in setting up manufacturing units in the country which includes setting up of duck farms as sleeping bags and jackets are filled with their feathers," a senior official said here.
The Defence Ministry had been importing sleeping bags, jackets, gloves, socks and some other clothing material from Swiss firms but recently the Director General of Quality Assurance (DGQA) had found some flaws in the products.
The sleeping bags and jackets were found to have irregular distribution of feathers thus forcing the authorities to reject it.
These items were also sent to the Siachen base camp for field trial where also they were rejected after putting through rigid tests and extreme weather condition.
While selecting the sleeping bags or jackets or for that matter anything pertaining to clothing of troops, the DGQA has to ensure that no gaps are left in between for the chilly breeze to slip in through the clothing as this could prove fatal for soldiers, the official said.
The ministry, in the meantime, may post some of its officials from the DGQA and army at the manufacturing units in Switzerland to ensure that the flaws were checked at the initial stage itself, the official said.
The flaws occurred because the Swiss firms, which have been supplying clothing to various armies deployed in extreme cold weather conditions, have started outsourcing manufacturing process.
About setting up of the firms in the country, the official said the government would seek the expertise in setting up of duck farms and other things from Swiss firms before starting indigenous production of sleeping bags and other clothing material for the troops deployed in the high altitudes.
This would also prove beneficial for some of the central para-military forces like the Indo-Tibetan Border Police, who also man inhospitable terrain in Himachal Pradesh, Ladakh and Sikkim, the official added.
http://www.outlookindia.com/pti_news.asp?id=471241
© Copyright PTI. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of any PTI content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without their prior written consent.
