Govt says looking at tech to seal northern and eastern borders
1 min read 11 Jul 2019, 01:24 AM ISTGovt’s statement comes after a sleeper module of a banned Bangladeshi terror outfit was busted on SundayTwo pilot projects have been taken up to replace the existing old design, MoS for home affairs Nityanand Rai informs the Lok Sabha
PremiumNEW DELHI : India is looking at technological solutions to seal its northern and eastern borders, the government said on Wednesday after authorities busted an underground module of a banned Bangladeshi militant outfit in Bangalore on Sunday.
“Two pilot projects have been taken up to replace the existing old design and composite fencing with a new anti-cut and anti-rust modular fencing (New Design Fence)," minister of state for home affairs Nityanand Rai informed the Lok Sabha.
“While the pilot project for construction of New Design Fence in 3 km border length in Assam has been completed, another pilot project in 7.18km border length in Punjab has been approved and work has been awarded," Rai said in a written reply.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday discovered underground modules of the banned Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) in Bengaluru.
Rai said the government has decided to deploy technological solutions in the form of a Comprehensive Integrated Border Management System (CIBMS), in difficult terrain on borders with Pakistan and Bangladesh. “CIBMS involves integration of manpower, sensors, networks, intelligence and command and control solutions and includes inter alia Electro-Optic Sensors (high resolution day and night cameras), radars and other devices," he added.
The government’s clarification came as ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lawmaker Tejaswi Surya lashed out at illegal migrants from Bangladesh in the Lok Sabha.
Surya demanded that the National Register of Citizens (NRC), which is a process to enumerate Indian citizens in the Northeast, be introduced in Karnataka too in the interest of national security and to “weed out" illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. “Illegal immigrants are a security threat to the state. Yesterday (Tuesday) a terror module that operates from Bangladesh was busted in Bengaluru. I call upon the Centre to extend NRC to Karnataka and Bengaluru to weed out Bangladeshis who have come here illegally," Surya told the Lok Sabha.
“A huge number of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants have made Bengaluru their home, posing serious threat to national security while taking away jobs of Indians. Inflow must end now."
