New Delhi: A special winter clothing and equipment fund has been sanctioned by the Union home ministry for CRPF troops operating from the Temporary Operating Bases (TOBs) created for fighting terrorists in the higher reaches of Jammu and Kashmir post the 2025 Pahalgam attack.
Official sources told PTI that an allocation of more than Rs 4.54 crore has been granted to the paramilitary few weeks ago to procure gaiters, sleeping bags, snow boots and goggles, extreme cold weather clothing developed by the DRDO (Himsuraksha brand), insulating mats, rucksacks, gloves, tents, thermal insoles, blankets and rescue bags for about 600 troops.
While most of these items were already provided to the TOB troops since the last year, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in July granted “complete authorisation” to a CRPF proposal for procuring these items so that the troops can be better equipped for long duration reconnaissance patrols, survival and combat against terrorists in the higher reaches, they said.
The life expectancy of these items is about two years and the funds can be revised upwards for fresh procurement, the sources added.
The TOBs, established above the height of 6,000 feet, house Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) commandos for launching search and assault operations where terrorists are holed up in ‘dhoks’ (mud and stone huts).
It has been found that terrorists used the snow-bound and arduous hilly terrains of Jammu and Kashmir to hide before or after perpetrating violence in the plains and, hence, the CRPF and Army troops are now stationed here.
The first such rocks and mortar base was created by the CRPF in July 2025 and, as per latest data, the force has erected 55 TOBs in both Jammu and Kashmir regions of the Union Territory. The TOBs hold a team of about 15-25 armed troops with basic facilities of rest and recuperation.
One such TOB of the CRPF was used as a base by the security forces to eliminate in July 2025 the three terrorists who were responsible for the Pahalgam attack. This mission was called ‘Operation Mahadev’.
‘Operation Mahadev’ began on May 22, 2025 as part of a security plan that was drawn a day after the April 22 attack in the scenic Baisaran valley of Pahalgam where 26 people, mostly tourists, were killed by the terrorists who had taken shelter in the higher locations.
While the proposal to create TOBs for CRPF commandos, like the Army, was being planned since 2022-23, they were made operational post the April 2025 Pahalgam terrorist attack, official sources said.
