BSF presence up at corridor site, but sans lodging facility

Ravi Dhaliwal

Tribune News Service

Dera Baba Nanak, October 16

The BSF, which has been tasked with securing the Kartarpur corridor, is facing acute shortage of accommodation. Senior officers are grappling with the logistical dilemma of lodging an extra battalion, comprising of nearly 1,000 personnel, needed for the purpose.

After the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) asked the force to protect the passage, Integrated Check Post (ICP) and to ensure that the 20,000 odd pilgrims, who will be staying back every day after 5,000 cross over, remain safe, its officers have been holding regular meeting to find a solution.

A DIG-rank officer said the Land Ports Authority of India (LPAI) had washed its hands off the matter saying it could build permanent quarters only in the last phase. “Right now, the construction activity that falls in the first phase is going on and nobody knows when the third phase will start. Till then, where will our soldiers stay?” he asked.

The number of personnel to be actually deployed at the corridor on a day-to-day basis remains in the realms of speculation.

Officers say it all depends upon situations evolving daily. The force is thinking of establishing a tent city in its border outpost (BoP) Shikkhar Massian, 8 km from the corridor.

“Providing security cover is going to be a gigantic task in itself. On November 12, when the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev is celebrated, more than 40,000 people are expected to come to Dera Baba Nanak. All we can do is to keep our fingers crossed and pray for some divine intervention,” said an officer on duty at the site.

Cabinet Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, who is supervising the construction of the corridor, said he was aware of the problem. “I have asked the LPAI to take up the matter on a priority. After all, security is a matter of paramount importance and in no way should it be compromised,” he said.

Many were thinking that the CISF would be given charge of the security. However, officers claimed that the force was trained to do duty only at airports and not at a dry port like the corridor. The BSF is already providing security at the Attari-Wagah check post.

Meanwhile, the MHA flew in a delegation of journalists from New Delhi today. The scribes were taken to the zero-line where LPAI chairman Govind Mohan addressed a press conference, barely 50 m from the border. Later, a power-point presentation was also be given.