Rajnath launches Smart Fencing on Indo-Bangladesh border

Speed Post News Network

New Delhi : Two pilot projects covering about 71 km on Indo-Pakistan Border (10 km) and Indo-Bangladesh Border (61 km) of Comprehensive Integrated Border Management System (CIBMS) have been completed. The stage has been set now for taking up Stage-II and Stage-III covering about 1,955 km of the border which cannot be physically fenced. The CIBMS project will vastly improve the capability of BSF in detecting and controlling the cross border crimes like illegal infiltration, smuggling of contraband goods, human trafficking and cross border terrorism etc.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated the project BOLD-QIT (Border Electronically Dominated QRT Interception Technique) under Comprehensive Integrated Border Management System (CIBMS) on Indo- Bangladesh border in Dhubri district of Assam on March 5, 2019. Interacting with mediapersons, Rajnath said earlier in the month of September, 2018, two pilot projects of “smart” border fencing built under the CIBMS programme in Jammu were operationalised. He added that over a period of time complete border will be covered.

At Dhubri, where BOLD-QIT project has been implemented along riverine border, it was not feasible to construct border fencing. The 61 km of border area in Dhubri where River Brahmaputra enters into Bangladesh consists of vast char lands and innumerable river channels thus making border guarding in this area a challenging task especially during rainy season.

To address these problems, Ministry of Home Affairs has decided to use technological solutions to enhance capabilities of manpower of Border Security Force (BSF) deployed on the ground. As part of CIBMS, these two projects were undertaken. Implementation of this project will help in integration of manpower, sensors, networks, intelligence and command and control solutions to improve situational awareness at different levels of hierarchy to facilitate prompt and informed decision making and quick reaction to  emerging situations.

CIBMS involves deployment of a range of state-of-the-art surveillance technologies — thermal imagers, infra-red and laser-based intruder alarms, aerostats for aerial surveillance, unattended ground sensors that can help detect intrusion bids, radars, sonar systems to secure riverine borders, fibre-optic sensors and a command and control system that shall receive data from all surveillance devices in real time. Implementation of CIBMS projects on Indo – Pakistan and Indo – Bangladesh border will enhance the capabilities of Border security Force (BSF), according to a PIB release.