Electronic surveillance system being deployed: Home Minister Amit Shah
Safeguarding borders along IB
Jammu: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday said the government is deploying an electronic surveillance system to safeguard the country’s borders and that technology will be used to detect and dismantle underground cross-border tunnels to thwart infiltration by terrorists into Jammu and Kashmir.
Addressing BSF personnel during a visit to Border Outpost ‘Vinay’ near the International Border in the Hiranagar sector of Kathua district, Shah lauded the contribution of the force and praised the troops for performing their duties in challenging circumstances.
“We are deploying the electronic surveillance system on the borders, having two models. If anything happens (from the enemy side), you will be able to respond immediately,” he said.
He said technology will also help to increase accessibility. “And at the same time, to identify and dismantle underground tunnels, technical means would be put in place,” the home minister said.
He commended the dedication and devotion of the BSF in safeguarding the borders throughout the year and said “the real challenge is understood only when one visits the place”.
“In cold, rain or extreme heat when temperatures cross 45 degrees Celsius, you remain on guard 365 days and 24 hours on the forward posts keeping an eye on enemy activities.
“The BSF has a glowing history and the entire nation knows their role in safeguarding the nation,” he said, adding that in the past wars with Pakistan, the BSF’s contribution was similar to the army’s.
The Union Home Minister later met the families of 10 police personnel and an engineer who lost their lives in various terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir over the past year and handed over job appointment letters to the next of kin, officials said.
The minister, who is on a three-day visit to the Union Territory, met the families at Raj Bhavan here, they said.
Among the families who met the Union minister included the next of kin of four policemen who recently sacrificed their lives in a fierce gunfight with Pakistani terrorists in Kathua district.
A massive search operation has been underway in the forest area of the district since March 23 when police and other security forces intercepted a group of five terrorists who had infiltrated from across the International Border in the Hiranagar sector.
Four policemen, head constable Jagbir Singh and selection grade constables Jaswant Singh, Balvinder Singh and Tariq Hussain, and two terrorists were killed in a fierce gunfight in the district on March 27.
The wives of the slain policemen hailing from Kathua, Jammu and Reasi districts, along with relatives of six other police martyrs, were present at the event, the officials said.
Ruchi Abrol, wife of engineer Shashi Bushan Abrol of the Talab Tillo area of Jammu, also met Shah. Abrol was among seven workers of a construction company killed in a terror attack at Gagangir in Ganderbal district in October last year.
