New Delhi: On the occasion of the 7th annual 'International Yoga Day 2021' the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) stationed at the India-China border, performed Yoga at 18,000 feet on the snow-covered Himalayan peaks on Monday. Annually, the ITBP personnel perform Yoga on different high altitude border outposts in Ladakh ranging from 13,000 to 18,000 feet. The ITBP is one of the five Central Armed Police Forces of India, and is the border patrol organization that monitors India's boundary along China's Tibet Autonomous Region.
The personnel performed Yoga at 16,000 feet in Himachal, 14,000 feet at the bank of Pangong Tso in Ladakh and near the Galwan valley in Ladakh on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) wherein 20 jawans sacrificed their lives in the clashes with the Chinese Army on June 15 last year. ITBP deployed on Indian borders is responsible for guarding areas ranging from Karakoram Pass in Ladakh to Jachep La in Arunachal Pradesh which spans 3,488 km of the Indo-China Border. The specialised force also mans the Border Outposts on altitudes ranging from 9,000 to 18,800 feet in the Western, Middle and Eastern sectors of the Sino-Indian border.
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The ITBP personnel were seen performing the asanas in freezing temperatures of -30 degrees Celsius, which causes several health-related issues, as even gun barrels crack at such low temperatures. It isn't easy because the soldiers need to survive the thin air at sub-zero temperatures as they carry their equipment with them. The personnel were seen neatly lined up in rows while doing yoga in the region which was covered with a white sheet of snow.
Yoga is found to be an important activity in the current pandemic situation as its practice leads to both physical and emotional well-being and increases a person's ability to fight against the lethal infection in an effective manner.
