The Narendra Modi government has green-signalled the recommendations of a high-powered committee that stressed on the use of upgraded technology to strengthen security along India's 3,323km border with Pakistan.
The committee, headed by former Union Home Secretary Madhukar Gupta, was set up following the January terror attack on Pathankot air base and gave a presentation to Home Minister Rajnath Singh last week.
The committee has urged a grid-based system along the border, wherein, at vulnerable stretches, the Army's and the BSF's ground troops would be assisted by hi-tech equipment — including satellites for surveillance — as well as the intelligence agencies and the police forces of the four states.
Of the 3,323 km-long Indo-Pak border, 1,225 km falls in Jammu and Kashmir (including Line of Control), 553 km in Punjab, 1,037 km in Rajasthan and 508 km in Gujarat.
Apart from smart fencing, the committee has recommended the use of water, electronic as well as underground sensors, besides camera surveillance
Home minister Rajnath Singh, at a meeting attended by Gupta, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, the Intelligence Bureau and the Research & Analysis Wing chiefs, and home secretary Rajiv Mehrishi, among other senior officials, said the grid-based security system should be implemented as soon as possible.
“We are serious about implementation of the recommendations of the Madhukar Gupta Committee,” Union Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju told reporters here.
Besides putting water sensors in riverine areas, the Committee also suggested installing electronic sensors and fencing on the Indo-Pak border, sources said.
It also suggested underground sensors to be installed in infiltration-prone areas and foliage penetrating radars in forests and heavy vegetation areas.
Though the Gupta Committee prepared the report on the basis of its assessment of the situation on the International Border (IB) from Gujarat to Jammu region, similar action is expected to be taken on the Line of Control in Kashmir Valley, sources said.
The Committee was set up three months after the Pathankot attack to suggest ways to strengthen security along the border with Pakistan and address the vulnerability in fencing.
It has been mandated to study all types of gaps in the fencing and other vulnerabilities along the border and suggest a comprehensive approach to fix them on the interim and permanent basis.
PTI inputs
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