Dieticians to look into quality of food for troops: Rijiju

Guwahati, January 11 (IANS) Union Minister Kiren Rijiju on Wednesday said the government has sent teams of dieticians to all the posts along the country's borders manned by security forces to ascertain the quality of food served to the troops.   The assurance from the Union Minister of State for Home came in reference to a video that went viral in the social media alleging that the troops on the border were served poor quality food.   Talking to the media on the sidelines of a function organised by the Assam government to popularise digital transactions across the state, Rijiju said: "The jawans (troops) and their food and comfort is the top priority of our government. We have taken the matter seriously.   "The government had already deputed a Brigadier-level officer of the Border Security Force (BSF) and an Inspector General-level officer to probe the matter."   A few days back, a BSF constable Tej Bahadur Yadav had uploaded a video on social networking sites and alleged that troops were served bad quality food.   "The video in social networking sites is yet to be verified. We have already instituted a probe to verify the video and ascertain its authenticity," Rijiju said.   "Simultaneously, a probe has also been ordered to ascertain the quality of food served to our jawans on the difficult borders. Besides, we have also deputed a team of expert dieticians to visit the posts of security forces located along the borders," he said.   He also appealed to the media not to make an issue out of the uploaded video, since it is yet to be verified.   "We have received the initial probe inquiry report. But we can divulge it only when the government receives the final report," he added.