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| Close coordination among BSF-Pak Rangers reduces infiltration: IG BSF | | | Kunal Shrivatsa
EARLY TIMES REPORT
Chamliyal, Ramgarh sector (Samba), June 23: Asserting that the infiltration attempts along the Indo-Pak international have come down drastically over the last few years, the Inspector General (IG) Border Security Force (BSF) Jammu Frontier, S Chattopadhyay said here today that the success made in this direction should be attributed to the close coordination between BSF and Pakistan Rangers.
"The situation is under control on the international border… Its very calm at the moment compared to the last 4 years," IG BSF Chattopadhyay told reporters on the sidelines of the annual Chamliyal Mela in Ramgarh Sector along Indo-Pak international border.
"In 2007 there were 28 infiltration bids, in 2008 the number stood at 58, in 2009 it was 36 while 38 intrusion attempts were observed from January to July 2010, which has reduced to 9 only from August last year till now… It is a tremendous change made possible because of the close cooperation between BSF and Pak Rangers," he added.
Chattopadhyay said that the surveillance has been increased on Indian side while BSF has also improved its defence mechanism over the years which led to the decrease in the infiltration attempts.IG further said that Pakistan Rangers are also checking all sorts of activities on border which in turn has helped in controlling the infiltration attempts; however, he cautioned that alert has to be maintained.
"We can not be complacent and we should not be in a false impression that there are no people (terrorists) across the border…. According to our sources about 150-175 terrorists are getting training in camps operational at 7 to 8 different locations across the international border," the senior BSF officer maintained
"Given a chance the terrorists in the group of 15-20 each would like to cross over… That is why we have to be alert always," he added.
On being asked the threat perception on annual Amaranth Yatra pilgrimage starting from June 28, the IG said, "As of now we have no specific inputs, however, normally a big religious occasion like Amarnath Yatra is always a target for the terrorist groups."
Responding to a query on joint patrolling mechanism, Chattopadhyay said that the possibility of such an arrangement is being looked at.
"Yes we are exploring the possibilities but no decision in this regard has been taken so far…. Normally the arrangement is made to have joint patrol of troops of both the countries on Zero Line but it is in the formulation stage only…. The details of what will be the strength of troops and which weapons are to be used during the patrolling are being worked out," he said.
"However, to have better understanding with our counterparts we are planning to held sports activities… It will not only help in reducing misunderstandings and conflicts among two border forces but pave way for cementing better ties between the two nations. Such a proposal was mooted during DG level talks held in Lahore last year and same is being examined by the higher authorities to implement it on ground," IG added.
Chattopadhyay further disclosed that under a Central Government sponsored scheme, 38 Border-Out-Posts (BOPs) in Jammu Frontier are to be modernized to provide better living and working conditions to the jawans."The work on 38 out of 90 BOPs have started already… The remaining will be upgraded by the BSF itself over a period of 5 years," IG BSF informed. |
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