CHANDIGARH: Waking up from the shock of a terror attack in Punjab’s Dinanagar, the Border Security Force (BSF) is now planning to install un-manned smart motion sensors in the Punjab sector of the Indo-Pak border to detect movement on the border.
A fortnight back, three Pakistani terrorists holed up inside Dinanagar police station in Gurdaspur and killed seven people before being gunned down by the Punjab Police and Army.
Taking lessons from that incident, the BSF is leaving no stone unturned to ensure absolute security in the border areas. The smart motion sensors are already installed at the Line of Control (LOC) in Jammu and Kashmir, and the now the border fencing will also be re-erected in a few areas.
Sources revealed that a proposal to install un-marred smart motion sensors along the 553-km India-Pakistan border in Punjab has been discussed by the BSF and has been sent to the higher authorities for a final approval. The sources, however, hinted that it has been ‘verbally’ agreed upon to install these devices.
“These un-manned smart motion sensors will alert the BSF personnel in case there is movement on the border. If someone crosses the border, this sensor will send a signal to the near-by control station that movement has taken place in that area of the border. Thus, the nearest patrolling station can work speedily,” said a BSF official.
At present, about 15 per cent of the Indo-Pak border is not covered by fencing, and measures are being taken to tighten the loose ends. Sources said laser-guided and temperature sensitive radars, which send out an alarm as soon as someone tries to detect the hidden tunnels, are likely to be installed soon.
There is also a proposal to install CCTV cameras along the fence for which trials have been conducted, and these cameras will help spot any movement in extreme climatic conditions. Sources also revealed that thermal imaging cameras have already been installed on the border.
“Already a few CCTV cameras had been installed at several places near the barbed fence as a pilot project,” said an official.
Sources said that a new barbed fence is also been erected at the height of five to six feet, and also a concrete layer in between the fence. Some areas have also been identified wherein the position of the fence will be changed as the barbed fence is damaged. In a few places, it cannot be installed as the area falls in the river belt.
After the Dinanagar encounter, BSF Director General Devendra Kumar Pathak visited the Punjab sector Indo-Pak border, and he assessed the necessity of using technical gadgets and e-surveillance.
Sources said BSF has identified around 38 points on the border in Punjab, which are located in vulnerable areas. In most of these places, the border is divided through rivulets, nullahs and seasonal streams.
Though BSF Inspector General of Police, Punjab frontier, Anil Paliwal, could not be contacted, sources confirmed the BSF has become extra alert on the Punjab frontier after the Dinanagar incident and also with the Independence Day round the corner.