BSF to seal Indo-Pak border with ‘smart fence''

GS Paul

Tribune News Service

Attari, August 16

The “smart fence” along the India-Pakistan border to thwart any vulnerable element to cross the border is priority of the Border Security Force (BSF).

The BSF Director General (DG), KK Sharma, said this while presiding over the Independence Day programme here on Wednesday.

The BSF presented sweets to their Pakistani counterparts, who had gifted sweets on their Independence Day on August 14.

The “smart fence” project, christened as the Comprehensive Integrated Border Management System (CIBMS), is part of the Centre’s ambitious plan to seal India’s border with Pakistan and Bangladesh in a few years.

The susceptible spots at the border are covered with infra-red cameras, radars and other sensor-operative equipment. A software integrates all gadgets and pass on round-the-clock feed to the monitor of BSF personnel sitting in the Border Out Post (BoP). If any suspicious activity is detected, it will raise an alarm to alert the troops.

The pilot project has already been tested along a riverine stretch with Bangladesh, where there is negligible scope of erecting the fence or setting up a permanent BoP.

The maiden testing in Assam’s Dubri area with technical surveillance and alarm gadgetry was operationalised in the 55-km-long Dubri stretch across the Brahmaputra where the traditional surveillance was impossible.

“Its success has encouraged the BSF to implement the technology in the Jammu sector. The Punjab border is next in line,” Sharma said.