India will keep a close vigil on the porous India-Bangladesh border with the help of a new high-tech surveillance system.
Moreover, the government will install pontoon bridges, sluice gates and airships to plug the riverine and vulnerable patches along the 60 km stretch on the Indo-Bangla border in the northeastern state of Assam. Government has planned to completely seal it by June 2017.
The Border Security Force has constituted a team of senior officials to accomplish the task by involving officials from the Assam government and those from premier Indian technology institutions like the Indian Institute of Technology.
The Indian government has prepared a blue print accordingly 60.7 km long Indo-Bangla International Border in Assam is to be plugged by deploying smart technology and non-physical barriers. In riverine areas, pontoon bridges are proposed to be laid so that Border Security Force personnel can patrol and make observation posts atop them to monitor any movement along the border where rivers and rivulets run.
In addition, the government has proposed to build several sluice gates on the rivers so that the flow of water from the Brahmaputra river can be controlled and regulated during monsoon season.
Apart from that, radars, infrared sensors and hand held thermal imagers are planned to be deployed to ensure that the border is sealed and any breach is quickly reported.
BSF DG K K Sharma had recently visited the border areas in Assam and has submitted a preliminary assessment report about the whole plan to seal the border.
India shares a 4,096 km border with Bangladesh on the eastern flank. Of the 284 km India-Bangladesh border that falls in Assam, around 224 km is fenced and the remaining 60 km border is porous through which infiltration and the smuggling of cattle and drugs is a regular feature.
