Amid heightened tension, border remains vulnerable

Vijay Mohan & Sanjeev Bariana

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 30

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh today directed Central security agencies to be on high alert, especially in border areas. The direction came after he reviewed the security situation in the wake of anti-terror strikes by Indian Special Forces in PoK. Several key issues, however, continue to affect effective border management.

Several projects initiated to enhance sanctity of the border are plagued with time and cost overruns and some stretches remain vulnerable to cross-border infiltration.

The BSF initiated a project to install 45 “laser walls” to check intrusions three years ago. However, only 12 such systems have been installed so far.

Out of 553 km international border that runs through Punjab, 489 km is fenced. The remaining 64 km could not be effectively fenced due to riverine terrain. The aim was to plug such ingress routes using laser walls, sources said.

A review after the terror strike on the Pathankot air base in January this year revealed several shortcomings in border management. Parliament’s Standing Committee on Home Affairs had, in May this year, taken a serious view that only Rs 3,777.4 crore had been allocated to the Border Management Department against its projected demand of Rs 5,045.70 crore for 2016-17.

While the Home Ministry is considering the construction of 1,426.7-km lateral and 752.48-km axial roads along the border in Punjab and Rajasthan, ongoing border road construction work is lagging, with 265 km out of the sanctioned 473 km being completed at the end of the last fiscal.