Indian soldier in Kashmir complains of deplorable food, working empty stomach

A soldier of India’s Border Security Force (BSF) has released a series of videos on social media citing ‘corruption’ in the Indian army as the reason his battalion receives substandard food and experiences frequent hunger.

He posted videos on Facebook showing the horrible condition of the food he and his fellow troopers are served while on duty, India Today reported.

The man in the video introduces himself as Tej Bahadur Yadav, a soldier serving in the 29th Battalion of the Border Security Force (BSF). He is standing with a snow-covered mountain in the backdrop.

“We don’t want to blame the government because it does send us the food. However, it is all sold off in the markets before it gets to us,” Yadav claims in the video.

“A lot of times we go to sleep hungry,” the soldier adds, saying their breakfast consists of a “burnt paratha” with tea, and tasteless lentils for lunch and dinner.

“How are we expected to perform a 10-hour-long duty with this nutrition,” Yadav says, adding the situation has been persisting for over 10 days and counting.

“I want to reiterate the Indian government does send us food but we don’t know where it goes,” the BSF soldier said, adding he fears for his life for raising the issue.

“Spread this message and make sure it reaches the concerned authorities as I do not know what will become of me after this video is posted,” Yadav says.

The Indian government has reportedly ordered a probe into the soldier’s allegations after the videos surfaced. Meanwhile, BSF, in a tweet, said it is “highly sensitive to the welfare of troops. Individual aberrations, if any, are enquired into. A senior officer has already reached the location.”