India hikes perks for glacier warriors to end suicides
Afp, New Delhi
India on Thursday increased perks for troopers deployed on a frigid glacier in a bid to reduce psychological stress and a spate of suicides in the ranks, officials said. The cabinet headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh increased allowances for the officers by 80 percent from 7,000 rupees (175 dollars) a month and agreed to hand out other concessions, the officials said. "This is expected to reduce stress levels of soldiers and officers and hopefully also cut down on the number of suicides," defence ministry spokesman Sitanshu Kar told AFP after the announcement late Thursday. Some 120 soldiers posted mainly on the 6,300-metre (20,800-foot) high Siachen glacier and in mountainous Kashmir killed themselves last year. India has around 5,000 troops on the frigid wasteland, experts says, part of disputed Kashmir, where temperatures plummet to minus 50 degrees Celsius (minus 58 degrees Fahrenheit).
|
|
