In an effort to overcome the difficulty in guarding the riverine sections of the Indo-Pak border, the Indian Border Security Force (BSF) has started installing laser walls to fill the gaps in porous border between the two South Asian neighbours.
The Indian BSF, which guards the 3,323 kilometres border, excluding the Line of Control (LoC), has developed its own technical solution like Farheen laser wall to guard the fencing gaps on the border.
“The laser has been installed in areas of river Basantar, Bein Nullah, Karol Krishna and Paloa Nullah in the Jammu region,” an Indian Home Ministry official reportedly said.
Sensors blips alert border guards in case there is a movement along the unfenced stretch of the frontier located in the difficult terrain. Moreover, a similar laser-guided gadget is reportedly being put to test to detect hidden tunnels in border areas and undulating land.
The Indian BSF is also testing laser-guided and temperature sensitive radars that send out an alarm as soon as someone cuts the light path.
Such techniques are already being used in countries like Israel and Singapore to guard their respective borders.
The “smart fence mechanism” is part of an over Rs 45,000 million modernisation plan being implemented by BSF, India’s largest border guarding force with over 2,500,000 personnel under its command.
At present, about 15 percent of the Indo-Pak border and about 35 percent of the Indo-Bangla frontier are unfenced.
The BSF, in a maiden initiative, is also undertaking an ambitious upgrading of its surveillance equipment, guns and artillery to effectively secure the over 7,000 kilometres border on India’s western and eastern fronts.
The latest induction in BSF’s modern weaponry include X-95 assault rifle, 9mm beretta carbine and barrel grenade launcher.
