India will have a multi-layered, patrol-free fence along its borders with Pakistan and Bangladesh by the second half of 2017, Indian Border Security Force (BSF) chief KK Sharma said on Wednesday.
According to Sharma, some 20 global firms were in the process of undertaking a technical assessment of the project, Times of India reported.
The BSF chief further claimed that the force was working to implement a comprehensive border management system to convert regular patrolling troops to a quick reaction team. With the system established, the guards would be able to conduct a strike upon noticing any sort of infiltration on their surveillance radars, he added.
“In this regard few pilot projects are already on … two in Jammu and one each in Punjab and Gujarat where we have marshy areas. One project will be done in Assam’s Dhubri,” Sharma said.
The DG claimed that the move was aimed at modernising the force, saying humans had inherent weaknesses while gadgets and other equipment act as force multipliers. “We are in the process to plug breaches by technical solutions at both Pakistan and Bangladesh borders,” Sharma said.
In January this year, it was reported that the Indian government was looking into an Israel-type, highly secure fence for the nation’s border with Pakistan in the Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab sectors. During the same month, Indian media claimed the government was planning to cover the Indo-Pak border in Punjab with laser walls to prevent cross-border infiltration.
