Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday is learnt to have directed security forces to complete border fencing along the India-Bangladesh border within a stipulated timeframe, including the installation of three-tier fencing in vulnerable stretches, and to deploy modern technology wherever required to expedite the work.
Sources said Shah also discussed the details of securing the ‘Chicken’s Neck’ corridor by accomplishing fencing work expeditiously there, given the region’s geo-political sensitivity.
The directions were issued during a border management review meeting chaired by Shah in Siliguri with officials of the Union Home Ministry, the Border Security Force (BSF) and the West Bengal government.
On the first day of his two-day visit to West Bengal, Shah also chaired coordination meetings involving state government officials and Central security agencies to review border management, implementation of the new criminal laws in West Bengal, and birth and death registration.
He is scheduled to chair a high-level meeting on the law and order situation in the state in Kolkata on July 19.
Earlier in the day, Shah visited the Jhumagachh Border Outpost (BOP) in Siliguri, where he inspected indigenous and advanced technologies developed to strengthen border security.
Among the systems demonstrated was a radio-based fence breach detection mechanism that instantly alerts personnel by broadcasting a pre-recorded warning whenever the border fence is tampered with.
Shah also virtually laid the foundation stone for three BSF infrastructure projects worth Rs 47 crore.
Additionally, he inaugurated the construction of a 4-km border fence, estimated to cost Rs 30 crore, on newly acquired land for two border outposts in West Bengal through virtual mode.
Shah also reviewed the gate management system designed to facilitate safe and smooth movement for civilians and farmers along the India-Bangladesh border in Siliguri.
Addressing security personnel later, Shah said the government was developing a quadrangular security grid to strengthen India’s borders.
He reiterated that the welfare of security personnel guarding the country’s borders and their families remained a top priority.
“We are working towards making the national boundary completely secure and preventing infiltration by implementing the concept of ‘Smart Borders’,” Shah said.
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