BSF puts up fencing along unfenced border stretches
Times of India | 9 January 2025
12 Petrapole: Considering the current relation between Indian and Bangladesh, officers of the Border Security Forces (BSF) said they were in the process of putting up permanent and temporary fences along the 400km-odd unfenced portion of the international border in south Bengal. About half of the Indo-Bangla border areas is currently unfenced in south Bengal.
"Both the central as well as the state govt are working in tandem to fix the situation. Land is being acquired at multiple places near the unfenced areas, and we are in the process of completing the fencing work at majority of these places," said a senior official of BSF, South Bengal Frontiers.
The official said in places where permanent fencing couldn't be put up due to certain constraints, the BSF was using its own resources to install improvised barriers and using technologies like intruder alarms and trip flares to prevent illegal infiltration. Trip flares is a gadget that fires a flame if anyone accidentally steps on a thin, barely visible wire placed closer to the ground and also shoots an alarm to attract the attention of BSF personnel.
"No permanent construction or fencing is allowed within 150 yards of the international border. If we want to do so, permission is required from Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB). Hence, multiple such meetings are also underway," said the official.
A TOI team on Tuesday accompanied BSF to multiple sensitive border areas as they explained the technological upgrades and manpower increase to prevent any attempts of human or material infiltration. The Betna River separates the two nations, which are being guarded by BSF personnel at Petrapole and Jayantipur Border Outpost. In the absence of permanent fencing, the officials explained how they had used their own resources to erect barriers with barbed wires and bamboo poles. Officials explained that out of the 33km border area in this location, only 11 km has a permanent fence. Multiple new CCTV cameras have also been installed near the border, besides new LED lights."New control rooms have also been set up for better monitoring at night," the official said.