In -20 degrees Ladakh, ITBP personnel celebrate Republic Day [Watch video]

In minus 20 degrees Celsius, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) personnel celebrated the 71st Republic Day at 17,000 feet in Ladakh.

Chanting 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' and 'Vande Mataram', the ITBP personnel dressed in white uniforms, who are also referred to as 'Himveers', marked the R-Day celebrations.

Watch the video of their tribute to the nation on Republic Day here:

Two of the army soldiers were seen holding the tricolour as they marched in the snow.

Taking to Twitter, the ITBP tweeted: "#Himveers of #ITBP salute the Nation on #RepublicDay2020 #RepublicDayIndia Pictures from Ladakh at 17 K ft."

The ITBP men are trained to guards the border from Ladakh's Karakoram Pass to Jachep La in Arunachal Pradesh. It is a specialised mountain force and most of the officers and men are professionally trained mountaineers and skiers. Being the first responder for natural disaster, the force has been carrying out numerous rescue and relief operations across the country.

15 ITBP personnel awarded police service medals

Fifteen ITBP officials were awarded the police service medal on the eve of Republic Day, a spokesperson of the border guarding force said on Friday.

Second-in-command-rank officer Ratan Singh Sonal, Section Officer C Durai Raj and deputy inspector generals AS Rawat and Nishith Chandra were among the officials decorated with the distinguished and meritorious medal, the spokesperson said.

(With agency inputs)