The Indian Army is raising three companies of porters, comprising 1,800 local youths, in Arunachal Pradesh.
The move came amid troop mobilization along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Ladakh sector.
The drive is being conducted in collaboration with the state’s Labour Department.
The porters are employed for six months on fixed daily remuneration and they are required to extend their service during winter, stated reports.
The onset of winter is nearly three months away.
The employment usually takes place in August and September.
The exact number of people employed last year was not known but some locals said it was a few hundred.
Chief minister Pema Khandu, who attended the ‘porter raising ceremony’ at Sapper in West Kameng district on Friday, motivated hundreds of the youth who had turned up for the purpose.
An NGO, Yuva Arunachal, had mobilized the youth from all over the state.
To be employed within this month, they will form the three porter companies in the Kameng sector, of which the border town of Tawang is strategic for India.
The porters are entitled to leave and healthcare facilities and their lives are insured by state authorities during the period of service.