BSF using both ultra-modern, conventional methods to guard border with B’desh: Official

Petrapole (WB), Jan 8 (PTI) Guarding the challenging international borders between India and Bangladesh, the Border Security Force (BSF) has adopted mechanisms that converge conventional methods and ultra-modern technologies to prevent smuggling and human trafficking.

A senior official said that the BSF’s South Bengal Frontier, which guards 913 km length of the international border between the two neighbours, extensively uses electronic surveillance in cohesion with conventional methods like sentry posts and foot patrolling.

Noting that nearly half the 913 km long border guarded by the South Bengal Frontier is yet to be fenced, he said that several methods have been adopted by the force to stop smuggling and human trafficking along the difficult terrain and riverine sections.

‘Pan, Tilt, and Zoom’ (PTZ) cameras apart from fixed ones are in place in extensive numbers to keep an eye on every movement where fencing is yet to be completed, the senior BSF official said.

The cameras, equipped with night vision facilities, have sensors to detect and pinpoint any human movement along the borders. The information is passed on to the sentries from the control rooms, he told visiting reporters at Petrapole in West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas district, around 110 from Kolkata.

Out of the 32 km-long border in one battalion command area of the BSF near the Petrapole land customs station, only 11 km are fenced while the rest area is guarded in a seamless convergence of conventional and ultra-modern technologies, he said.

“Manpower, technology and resources are used in a proper manner to prevent smuggling and human trafficking,” he said.

The official said that the land acquisition process is on for putting up smart fencing in the unfenced area and some land along the border has been handed over to the force for the purpose by the state administration according to BSF’s requirement.

Conditions become more challenging during the monsoons as the Betna river flowing along the border and other water bodies in this area overflow owing to heavy rain, he said.

“The BSF jawans have themselves put up barbed wire along the border where smart fencing is yet to be put up,” the official said.

These are, however, aided by top-end gadgets including trip layer flares which get activated when any intruder touches the wires, helping the force to easily locate movement in the area in the darkness of night.

“The smugglers and traffickers will continue to make efforts, but we are prepared to meet the challenges,” the BSF official said.

The official said that gaps in sentry monitoring areas are also covered using electronic surveillance, including 360-degree rotating cameras and sensors which start blowing when anyone touches the camouflaging placed around these gadgets.

“Every movement is monitored along the border at the control rooms and directions are given from there to the concerned sentries for necessary steps,” he said.

The official said that the BSF personnel are equipped with pump action guns (PAG), which are non-lethal weapons, on sentry duty in the area.

At places where villages are located close to the border, netting is also used to cover the smart fences, which are 20 feet high at places, to prevent anyone from throwing some articles from across the border intended to be received by recipients waiting on the other side.