Watch: ITBP Himveers Unfurl National Flag At 15,000 Feet In Ladakh In Freezing Weather

As the entire country is marking the 73rd Republic Day on Wednesday personnel of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) also joined the festivities.

ITBP men posted at the Ladakh borders unfurled the national flag at 15000 feet in minus 40-degree Celsius temperature.

The force also posted special videos and pictures to commemorate the Republic Day of India.

ITBP

The video shows the soldiers braving the freezing temperatures unfurling the national flag not only at Ladakh but also at different heights at peaks of the Himalayas where they are posted to secure the India-China border.

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Happy Republic Day from #Himveers of ITBP

From #Ladakh#RepublicDay2022 #RepublicDay #??????????? pic.twitter.com/bS1A8pnPlH

¡ª ITBP (@ITBP_official) January 26, 2022

Also referred to as the ITBP 'Himveers', the personnel raised a full-throated cry: "Bharat Mata Ki Jai" and "Vande Matram".

The clip has garnered several appreciative comments and wishes from netizens on Twitter.

"Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) personnel known as Himveers celebrating the Republic Day at 15000 feet in minus 40-degree Celsius temperature at icy Ladakh borders, " said the ITBP.

Besides Ladakh, the ITBP personnel celebrated Republic Day at 16,000 feet in Himachal Pradesh in snow conditions saluting the national flag and singing the National Anthem.

ITBP

The ITBP personnel also celebrated Republic Day at 12,000 feet in minus temperatures in the Kumaon region in Uttarakhand.

Valor and commitment

Serving the nation in the most difficult and inhospitable terrain in Ladakh, the ITBP personnel are examples of valor, commitment, and patriotism.

ITBP, the specialized mountain force -- most of whose officers and men are trained mountaineers and skiers -- guard the 3,488 km border from Ladakh's Karakoram Pass to Jachep La in Arunachal Pradesh.

On Tuesday, on the eve of Republic Day, eighteen personnel of the ITBP were decorated with various police service medals including gallantry decorations.

AFP

A notification issued by the Union home ministry stated that three personnel have been awarded the police medal for gallantry (PMG), three with the president's police medal for distinguished service and 12 with the police medal for meritorious service.

The PMG has been given to the team of Assistant Commandant Ashok Kumar, Inspectors Suresh Lal and Neela Singh for neutralising two wanted Maoists during a fierce encounter in the left wing extremism-affected area of Chhattisgarh's Rajnandgaon district in February, 2018. A huge assortment of arms and ammunition was also recovered after the operation.

Among the distinguished service medal awardees is deputy inspector general (DIG) Ajay Pal Singh who joined the mountain-warfare trained force as an officer in 1990.

BCCL

Singh is currently posted at the ITBP officers' training academy in Mussoorie, Uttarakhand. He has served three tenures along the LAC in Arunachal Pradesh, Ladakh as well as counter-insurgency operations in Jammu and Kashmir apart from various training units of the force.

He has also served in the ITBP operations directorate at the force headquarters in Delhi and has been instrumental in bringing out the first-ever ITBP history book that was unveiled last year.

DIsG Ramakant Sharma and G C Upadhyay have also been awarded the distinguished service medal.

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