Assam
LEAVING NOTHING TO CHANCE: Bangladesh border. Image for representational purpose only.

Laser walls and other hi-tech surveillance systems would be put in place in Indiaโ€™s eastern border with Bangladesh to bolster security.

โ€œUnder the Comprehensive Integrated Border Management System (CIBMS), laser walls, sensors, closed circuit television, high-power camera among other hi-tech surveillance system would be introduced along India-Bangladesh borders,โ€ Hemant Kumar Lohia, inspector general of BSFโ€™s Eastern Command said.

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โ€œThe signals from the various elements of the CIBMS would reach a Unified Command and Control Centre to enable the BSF monitor the border on real-time basis. The CIBMS enables round-the-clock surveillance in different weather conditions or even in duststorms, fog or rain,โ€ Lohia added.

Lohia said that the CIBMS, also known as a virtual fence, would create an invisible electronic barrier on land, water and in the air.

โ€œThe CIBMS is designed to guard stretches where physical surveillance is extremely hard either due to inhospitable terrain or riverine stretches,โ€ he pointed out.

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โ€œInitially, the system would be set up in critical areas of Assamโ€™s Dhubri district and some portion of Tripura,โ€ he said, adding this would help control infiltration and other incidents on the border.

The use of high-tech solutions for border security is being considered by the Home Ministry since 2012. The BSF had also submitted a detailed report on CIBMS to the ministry.

โ€œBut after the discovery of several cross-border tunnels on the western frontier, the ministry swiftly approved two pilot projects,โ€ another BSF officer said.

According to the officer, BSF troopers, during their patrolling, now use night vision goggles, weapon sights and hand-held searchlights, among other equipment.

โ€œWith the increase of the cross-border threats, the BSF was forced to embark on a high-tech modernisation process,โ€ the officer pointed out.

According to the official, besides employing high-tech technologies, the BSF continues to deploy its sniffer dogs for surveillance.