Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) chief SS Deswal, undoubtedly one of the most physically fit paramilitary bosses, began a 100-km speed march on Friday with senior officers from Bikaner district’s Mehrasar to Jodhpur in Rajasthan.
The route includes more than 25 km desert and many other stretches, including undulating terrains and off-track routes. The march is aimed at promoting “Fit India” movement and fitness among masses in general. Deswal, 58, has undertaken dozens of long route and speed marches in the Himalayas and on seaside of the country in the last one year.
The routes undertaken on the Himalayan range by him include Lipulekh Pass, Sangla Valley (103 KM), Auli Tapovan and Gangotri Tapovan, among others.
“The march is aimed at spreading the ‘Fit India’ mission and to promote the youth to engage in more physical exercises to remain fit,” said ITBP spokesperson Vivek Pandey.
The trek record of Deswal includes 30 km around Bhrigu Lake in Himachal Pradesh and touched the highest point at 14,100 ft, Amarnath Yatra route (42 km, highest point: 14,500 ft), Lipulekh Pass (30 km, highest point: 17,060 km), Sangla Valley, Kinnaur in Himachal Pradesh (103 km, highest point: 15,000 ft) and Mussoorie (Distance covered: 42 km, highest point: 6,800 ft).
Other trekking areas covered by Deswal are Auli Tapovan (Highest point: 13,000 ft, Distance: 35 km), Puri-Konark Sea Beach (52 km), Gangotri-Gaumukh-Tapovan- (15,000 ft, 46 km), Dhanushkodi, Tamil Nadu (32 km) and Alwar (42 km).
The rural trek route in Bikaner and Jodhpur districts being covered by Deswal on Monday and Tuesday will entail a journey of 100 km in 24 hours.
Deswal’s accomplishments in the last one year range from over a dozen long route trek routes from the Himalayas to the sea shores. He walks with short time staging points. He walks at a speed of 4 to 5 KM per hour.
“The DG never uses lift in multi-storey buildings at Force Headquarters and motivates others for the same. He walks with the in-service courses of Inspectors General and Deputy Inspectors General throughout the stretch of 42 km around the training academy,” a senior official said.
The DG is undeterred by the forces of nature. He started his trekking in Mussoorie at 5 am in the morning when the temperature was minus one degree. He is known to begin the trekking sessions in the Himalayas early in the morning around 4 am, Pandey said, adding such a case of leading by example by the Force’s chief is an important motivational factor for the rank and file of the paramilitary.
