Soldiers manning the Siachen glacier battle extreme cold weather. Temperatures there plummet to minus 60 degrees Celsius.
The soldiers aren’t able to take a bath for almost 90 days when they are guarding the north-eastern border with China due to nail biting cold weather. Since they are posted at heights of up to 21,700 feet, water remains a luxury for them.
In such cases, indigenously developed waterless body?hygiene products will be shipped to the soldiers, Hindustan Times reported. Close to 3,000 soldiers which are posted at the glacier at any given time have found the waterless cleansing products very useful, informed the publication.
Photo: PTI
Based on that feedback, the Kolkata- Eastern Command has tested and ordered thousands of bottles of these products. The officials on condition of anonymity told HT that these products will also cater to the needs of those troops located in other high-altitude areas.
Almost 80% posts on the glacier are located above 16,000 feet, with Bana towering above the rest at 21,753 feet.
The product will be available in gel form that will allow soldiers to take a bath at least twice a week. About 20 ml gel is good enough for a full body wash. Many of the soldiers even have to trek for 28 days; roughly covering a stretch of 128 km to reach some of the farthest posts.
Photo: The Indian Express
Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi has helped develop these water less?products. Their availability has been facilitated by Army Design Bureau (ADB).
Melting ice on Siachen into water requires a lot of fuel and hence, isn’t feasible therefore, the innovative products will help promote personal hygiene.
Reportedly, ADB was inaugurated in 2016 and aims to find indigenous solutions to 130 problems that our army is facing in three separate reports. Some of these include, a drop in engine performance of tanks and infantry combat vehicles at high altitude, difficulties in laying bridges for movement of troops and vehicles in mountains and smart vests for soldiers with built-in codes for identification.
Speaking to HT, one of the ADB officials said that solutions close to 25 problems were being implemented.