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In the past, the Border Security Force (BSF) troops patrolling along the India-Pakistan border would often find ground beneath them caving in. Those were tunnels meant for infiltration of terrorists from Pakistan. They worried about tunnels which could be better secured and not likely to collapse. One such tunnel was found in 2012.
The BSF discovered a 20-ft deep tunnel with a complete ventilation and breathing system 340 metres inside India from the border in Samba sector—only 58 km from the Pathankot air base which was attacked by terrorists four years later.
Now, instead of soldiers stumbling on tunnels, a hi-tech system will detect them.
Tata Power BSE 0.79 % SED and Dat Con have won a pilot project of the Ministry of Home Affairs to install an integrated border-guarding system to test technology for preventing infiltration, especially by detecting cross-border tunnels as well as possible entries through aerial and underwater routes.
The pilot project was sanctioned last week. Called the
Comprehensive Integrated Border Management System (CIBMS), it is a major counter-infiltration measure to prevent cross-border terror attacks.
The 3,323-km India-Pakistan border consists of the international border guarded by the BSF and the Line of Control guarded by the Indian Army.
The border is porous which makes infiltration by terrorists possible.
In the 1990s, the government had erected a fence along the entire length of the India-Pakistan border.
But infiltration was still taking place.
Over the years, the BSF has found several tunnels starting from Pakistan reaching into India.
In 2012, when the tunnel was found in Samba, the BSF constituted a committee of its own officers to identify patches along the India-Pakistan border, where the soil was conducive to digging tunnels. The committee found several such areas.
There are such areas on a 14 km stretch in Punjab too.
While considering tunnels as infiltration routes, the BSF also considered the possibility of infiltrators using aerial and underwater routes to enter India. "In view of Pakistan's adoption of non-traditional methods, infiltrators could use machines to move under the surface of rivers meandering between India and Pakistan. They could also enter via aerial means.
In addition, there have recently been several UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) sightings on the Pakistan side of the border. What if a UAV is directed to throw explosives or other war-like material on the Indian side of the border?" said a BSF official.
Search for technology
Clearly, detecting tunnels or other non-conventional methods of infilteration was not possible without technology.
About 85 per cent of the border is fenced, but the rest is marked by irregular geographical features such as rivers and nallahs which can't be fenced.
The BSF committee could not find the required technology. India even contacted Israel which had ground-penetration radar and seismic equipment to detect tunnels. But these did not work at deep levels. The CIBMS is meant to be technology.
Testing the sensors
In March 2016, the BSF floated a
Request for Proposal for a pilot project of the CIBMS in two five-km patches along the border in Jammu. About
10 firms participated. "Extensive field trials were carried out by a technical board to judge the quality of solution offered by the bidders. Then financial bids were opened. The best-value bidder for each patch was judged on the basis of quality-cum-cost method [good quality at a low price]," said another official.
Tata Power's Strategic Engineering Division (Tata Power SED) and Dat Con were selected.
The CIBMS will integrate sensors, communication, infrastructure, response, and command and control. It will be a force multiplier for the BSF. "Manpower along the border is irreplaceable, but human endurance has its limitations. With the CIBMS we can detect threats in advance and ensure a counter attack. This would lead to reduction in casualties," said an official.
An important component of the CIBMS is satellite imagery. The BSF is already using satellite imagery. It helps the security forces in learning about the terrain and military fortifications across the border. It also helps in better planning of operations and border defences on the Indian side. However, not being real-time, they are not always useful.
The BSF has also planned to use UAVs as part of the CIBMS to launch them when required to gain real-time data.
Sensors such as those placed underground will also form part of the CIBMS. These sensors sound an alarm when a person steps near them, alerting the troops.
"The firms will also be setting up equipment to detect cross-border tunnels and possible infiltration through aerial and underwater means.
The pilot project will be the first to test such technology," said an official. The RFP had stated the requirement of tracking low-level flying threats from 500 m up to 1 km.Sonars will also be used to track underwater movement.
In a statement issued yesterday, Tata Power said, "CIBMS will establish a seamless multi-tier security ring at the border using a variety of sensors, to identify any infiltration attempts and will be operational 24x7x365. Sensors (viz. Thermal Imager, Radar, Aerostat with EO Payload, Optical Fibre Intrusion Detection System, Unattended Ground Sensor and Underwater Sensor) can detect threats not just on the surface but also underground and underwater." Dat Con refused to divulge details of the pilot project.
The pilot project is meant to test maximum number of sensors to see what works the best. "We want to see the shortcomings and how successful is the project, before implementing it across the entire border with Pakistan," said an official. Later, the CIBMS would also be implemented on the India-Bangladesh border, he said.
