Terrain, soil and proximity to national highway make Samba favoured area for clandestine tunnels

Vijay Mohan

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Chandigarh, May 6

After detecting another cross-border tunnel in the Samba Sector this week, the Border Security Force (BSF) is stepping up its drills to detect such clandestine tunnels by increasing foot patrols along the border and laying greater focus on intelligence gathering.

According to BSF sources, 10 tunnels running from the Pakistani side to the border into India have been detected in the Samba sector of Jammu and Kashmir since 2020, out of which six had been completed while boring of the remaining four was still under way.

The longest tunnel in this area was detected near the Bobiya border outpost in January 2021, which was 400-foot long and had a 100-foot long subsidiary tunnel running alongside.

The Samba sector, BSF sources said, is favoured by Pakistan to bore tunnels for infiltration of terrorists and smuggling of weapons, explosives and contraband for several reasons

“The national highway to Kashmir runs closest to the border in this sector, which makes communication convenient for infiltrators,” a senior BSF officer said. “The alignment of the border fence and its proximity to the border, as well as the terrain and soil composition of this area are other major factor,” he added.

The soil in the Samba sector is clayey and hard, which holds up well when bored through. The area to the north towards Akhnoor is rocky and hilly, while other places towards the south have sandy and loose kind of composition. In Punjab, two rivers, Ravi and Sutlej have stretches that criss-cross the border.

Since tunneling has to be done in total secrecy, visibility also factors in. The undulating terrain in the Samba sector generally tends to slope down towards the Indian side and at places is infested with dense vegetation.

“Vulnerable spots, in Jammu region as well as other places, have been mapped out and are under increased surveillance. More foot patrols are being sent out the survey ground as it is only way at present to detect tunnels,” the officer said. Trials of sensors and ground penetration radars are also on in certain places.

While Punjab too remains vulnerable to cross-border trafficking and smuggling, no tunnel has been detected in this area recently. Between 1997 and 2003, five tunnels were detected, out of which four were in the Gurdaspur sector and one in the Ferozepur sector. Prior to this, a couple of tunnels have been detected in the Barmer sector of Rajasthan and Gujarat.

“This however, does not mean that Punjab is off the radar. The possibility of tunnels being dug in this sector in future or any which may already be existing but have not been detected so far cannot be ruled out,” a BSF officer said. North-eastern part of Gujarat, particularly the Sir Creek area, is another hot spot.