JOIN USThe Border Security Force (BSF) will install ground sensors on the India-Pakistan border in Punjab to curtail intrusions from the other side of the fence.
The force secures a 550-km-long border in Punjab. The sensors will detect and transmit any movement of intruders or smugglers along the border.
The move comes in the wake of a spurt in drug smuggling from across the border. Once installed, the sensors will not only make surveillance on the border more efficient, it could also make the arduous task of manning this porous border somewhat less strenuous for the BSF.
Now, the ground sensors are in a test phase, following which they will be installed along a 40-km stretch on the Amritsar-Attari border.
This region is highly vulnerable to drug smuggling. The sensors, sources said, will send signals back to a centralised control room in case it detects a movement.
The devices will have the provision to send pictures of intrusion as well.
Securing the border in Punjab becomes even more demanding during foggy winter months when visibility falls to an abysmally low level.
While all standard operational procedures for patrolling and surveillance have been put in place by the BSF, extreme weather conditions often taken a toll.
Punjab falls in the line of an international drug trafficking zone called the “golden crescent” and is a major transit and destination point for drugs coming from Afghanistan and Pakistan. BSF officials said a record opium production in Afghanistan also contributes to the smuggling.
In 2013, the BSF seized over 304 kg of high-priced heroin on the Punjab border. The Punjab police seized 409 kg of heroin till December 25 last year.