The Ministry of Home Affairs has decided to award compensation to paramilitary coronavirus warriors from the ‘Bharat ke Veer’ funds. The 36 paramilitary personnel who lost their lives to Covid-19 will be paid additional Rs 15 lakh from the fund, DG CRPF AP Maheshwari confirmed to CNN-News18. "The soldiers who have sacrificed their lives because of coronavirus while working in hotspots are being taken care of. In the ‘Bharat ke Veer’ fund, some arrangement have been made to give some extra amount to the corona warriors," Maheshwari said in an exclusive conversation.
The DG CRPF said the pandemic has proved to be a big challenge for the force which has lost 13 men to the disease. The virus also created operational challenges as more and more personnel had to be quarantined. "Because of the pandemic, in operations we had to pool in resources. Instead of reducing numbers, we sought help from nearby companies. We had to pool in resources from other units. Operations in Kashmir or in Bastar were such that we could not compromise on number of soldiers required," he said.
Maheshwari told News18 that coronavirus has permanently changed the living and mess arrangements of the forces on the ground. To maintain social distancing norms, additional spaces have been hired for stay of forces in operational areas. "State administration helped us in a big way. They provided additional tents where needed, MHA authorised DG to hire space where needed. Our food distribution, restrooms, everything was altered in consultation with states," he said.
So far, 7,267 paramilitary personnel have been infected by the virus. While recovery rate is rising, 86 fresh cases were reported from CRPF alone on Friday. The CRPF has lost 13 men to the virus, BSF 9, ITBP-3, CISF 9 and SSB 2.
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