BSF to replace old fencing with newly-designed fencing along India-Pakistan border in Rajasthan

BABLYAN (INDO-PAK BORDER): The Border Security Force (BSF) is all geared up to keep a vigil along vast swathes of the desert terrain along the Indo-Pak border in Rajasthan with newly-designed smart fencing for detecting any intrusions.

The BSF is implementing an ambitious project called the Comprehensive Integrated Border Management System (CIBMS) as part of the Narendra Modi government’s plan to completely seal the Indo-Pak and India-Bangladesh borders in the next few years.

The BSF is tasked with guarding the over 6,300-km-long two borders. The new frontier guarding systems will bring a “sea c sea change”, for the first time, in this domain.

“Works of newly designed fencing have already started in Sriganganagar. The old fencing, which was installed in 1990, will be replaced by newly designed fencing phase-wise. I think it will be completed within this year,” a senior BSF official told a 12-member Assam journalist who visited the international border as part of Biksit Bharat Sankaalpa Yojana at Bablyan on January 6.

What is more significant is that the surveillance will not be left to these high-resolution sensors and alarms but would rather be appendage with mobile and manual patrol and traditional surveillance from the border observation pillars and posts as well for a multi-tier vigil.

Rajasthan shares a 1,070 km-long international border with Pakistan. To the West and North-West, it is bounded by the provinces of Sindh and Punjab in Pakistan. Four districts of Rajasthan- Sriganganagar (210 km), Bikaner (168 km), Jaisalmer (464 km), and Barmer (228) share the international border from North to South.

The central government has undertaken construction of fencing along the international border with Pakistan since the 1980s. The works started in 1990.

“There is going to be a paradigm shift in our operational preparedness. As of now, we patrol from point A to point B (along the border). What we are now planning is to shift to a QRT (quick reaction team)-based system and several new technologies which have not been tried so far are being tested,” the official said.

The new equipment and technologies will be integrated and a feed, from CCTV cameras, will go to the border outpost where there is a monitor installed.

“This will be monitored round-the-clock by two or three men. Now, we have software which is in a position to detect any intrusion or any change in the scenario and create an alarm,” he said.

An automatic alarm will indicate the exact place where this intrusion (at the border) is taking place or an attempt is being made or something is being seen, he also said.

“Once we get the alarm, we will zoom our night vision cameras on that and when we come to know what is happening, we will be able to neutralise the threat. This is the idea,” he further said.

The new system will see that instead of his troops patrolling day-in-and-day-out along the border, they will be sitting in the border outpost ready to move if there is any threat.

“This will be a sea change. We have leapfrogged in terms of gaining technology. From the patrolling mode to the QRT mode. This is the CIBMS. This is a paradigm shift in what we are going to do now,” he further said.

“Technology will guard the borders for us. The technology will not have the weakness or frailties that humans have,” the official said.

He added that the systems, of smart fences and surveillance methods, are from the state-of-the-art technologies being used in Israel.

“It is a peaceful border. No illegal activities either drug smuggling or human intrusion have been noticed in the last 10 years. Our coordination with the counterpart is also good. We are maintaining the safety and security of the border,” he said.

“However, the weather is the challenge for us. Temperature touches 55 degrees Celsius making it extremely tough for us guarding the border. In winter, the temperature reaches -1 Degree Celsius. Despite all odds, our people have been working here,” the official said.

“We are planning for cool jackets that would keep the jawans brave in the heat. We are surveying it,” he said.

“To brave the heat, we are taking up a lot of environmental activities, including a massive plantation. In the last year, we planted more than 21,000 various species of saplings here. We are planning for plantation of 40,000 saplings in the coming year,” the official further said.

Another major challenge is summer sandstorms where patrolling SUVs cannot move in the terrain. In such a situation, patrolling by the troops is done on camelbacks. 44 animals (in 17 BOPs) are deployed for patrolling purposes,” the official added.

He said monitoring of drone movement is a major surveillance activity of the troops.

Another BSF official from 173 Bn of BSF at Lungewala informed that there is a threat of drug trafficking with the help of drones. “Earlier they also used camels for it. But there has been no such incident in the last 10 years,” he said.

“There is no report of intrusion in this sector. We have noticed some drone movements but that too on the Pakistan side,” he said.

A foot patrol of BSF’s women constables (mahila praharis) led by a woman officer maintains a hawk’s eye on the Indo-Pak border from anti-national elements.

A total of 36 woman constables have been posted in this sector of the border. These young women match the BSF men shoulder-to-shoulder when it comes to warding off any threat across the border, drug smugglers or ceasefire violations by Pakistan.