Punjab wants 5 more BSF companies for security

[Hindustani78]

Punjab wants 5 more BSF companies for security''

A file picture of Border Security Force personnel patrolling the Indo-Pak border in Amritsar | Photo Credit: AKHILESH KUMAR -

http://www.thehindu.com/news/nation...sf-companies-for-security/article18191938.ece
Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Saturday sought five additional Border Security Force (BSF) companies from the Centre to strengthen the Indo-Pak border along the State.

In a meeting with Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Capt. Amarinder pointed out that the BSF deployment in the State needs to be strengthened along the lines of Jammu and Kashmir. At present, the State has one BSF battalion deployed for about 32 kilometres.

“Raising and strengthening second line of defence was necessitated by the fact that the Punjab border becomes vulnerable to terrorist attacks and smuggling of arms, ammunition and drugs from across the border in view of the heavy security at the J&K border,” said Capt. Amarinder, as quoted by an official spokesperson.

“Raising the second line of defence would require immediate funding of about ₹206 crore in infrastructure, capacity building and manpower,” said Capt. Amarinder, seeking the Home Minister’s support in financing the same in national interest.

Capt. Amarinder also raised the issue related to security at the high-profile Punjab jails, which have recently witnessed a spate of untoward incidents, including the Nabha jailbreak and several cases of gang war.

Security for prisons
Pointing out that that many terrorists lodged in various Punjab jails have nexus with gangsters lodged in the prisons, the Chief Minister urged Mr. Rajnath Singh to provide additional security forces to secure the high-profile prisons in the State.

 

[Hindustani78]

The panel, headed by senior Congress leader P Chidambaram, said no reasons were furnished by the home ministry on why the proposal to construct 509 additional border outposts had been reduced to 422.(AFP file )

http://www.hindustantimes.com/india...-bangladesh/story-4mkuP8WZbc6sMg9IKh7MCK.html



A parliamentary panel has taken strong exception to the government’s move to reduce the number of new outposts along the Indo-Pak and the Indo-Bangla borders, saying such posts are crucial for the country’s security.

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs, headed by senior Congress leader P Chidambaram, said no reasons were furnished by the home ministry on why the proposal to construct 509 additional border outposts (BOPs) in the two borders had been revised and reduced to 422.

The panel recommended that the original plan of constructing 509 BOPs should be reconsidered in the interest of the country’s security.

“Reducing inter-BOP distance is very crucial for the security of the country and to keep a tab on the activities going on at the border,” the panel said in its report.

In 2009, the government had approved a proposal to construct additional 509 BOPs along the Indo-Pak and the Indo-Bangla border at an estimated cost of Rs 1,832 crore. In 2016, the scope of the project was revised by the Cabinet Committee on Security from 509 BOPs to 422 BOPs.

At present, there are 609 BOPs along the 3,323 km-long Indo-Pak border and an additional 126 BOPs (including upgrading of 38 BOPs in Jammu) are to be constructed to reduce the inter-BOP distance to 3.5 km.

There are 802 BOPs along 4,096 km-long Indo-Bangla border where the additional 383 BOPs were to be constructed.

The parliamentary panel said even the reduced target was not achieved and only 97 BOPs have been completed by the end of 2016 along the Indo-Bangla border. It has also taken serious view of the cost and time overrun due to delay in land acquisition.

“The government should have taken advance action to overcome all such difficulties for timely implementation of the project,” it said.

There will be barracks, generator room, kitchen, toilet block and officers’ chamber in each of the BOP.

The committee said it was anguished over the extremely slow pace of construction of fencing along the Indo-Bangla border as the home ministry has been able to complete just 21 km of fencing in 17 months since July 2015.

“The committee notes that a long stretch of 423.34 km has remained unfenced due to non-feasibility of physical barrier and deployment of non-physical barriers is still in its testing phase and will require time before its implementation,” it said.

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Each BSF battalion has nearly 1,200 men.

 

[Tshering22]

What we need is:

- A more automated border management system with motion detectors like Israel has.
- More armed drones that can blast the mickey out of cross border aggression without risking the lives of our soldiers.
- More long range anti-materiel snipers so that our soldiers can safely shoot trespassers or hostile enemy forces from a distance.
- Better protective gear and facilities for BSF which is so ill-equipped.

 

[Hindustani78]

The Chief Minister of Punjab, Captain Amarinder Singh calling on the Union Home Minister, Shri Rajnath Singh, in New Delhi on April 22, 2017.

The Chief Minister of Punjab, Captain Amarinder Singh calling on the Union Home Minister, Shri Rajnath Singh, in New Delhi on April 22, 2017.

 

[Hindustani78]

//economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/62728374.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

NEW DELHI: The Border Security Force (BSF), which guards the country's volatile border with Pakistan, will raise six new battalions comprising around 7,000 personnel, official sources said today.

The Ministry of Home Affairs also sanctioned an amount of Rs 2,090.94 crore to the force. The new battalions will also be deployed along the smuggling and infiltration prone India-Bangladesh border.

The troops will be recruited fresh by the force, to be deployed as part of the six battalions. They will be on the ground in over an year's time, the sources said.

Each BSF battalion has over 1,000 jawans and officers.

The home ministry, the sources said, had on January 19 approved the proposal of the force to raise these fresh battalions and asked the BSF headquarters here to quickly initiate the process of operationalising them.

Four battalions, as per the order, will be raised as part of the forces' task of guarding eight Integrated Check Posts (ICPs) along Pakistan and Bangladesh, while the rest two will supplement the working units on the ground and help in the replacement of the tired troops .

The Press Trust of India (PTI), had on January 14, first reported that the government was planning to raise 15 new battalions in the country's two important border guarding forces-- the BSF and ITBP-- to better dominate and secure the frontiers guarded by these two paramilitary forces.

The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) is tasked to guard the 3,488 km long Indian frontier with China.

Sources said the home ministry's sanction to allow the ITBP to raise new battalions was in the "final stages".

The BSF had last year projected for enhancement of its manpower, from the about 2.5-lakh personnel, by sanctioning of new units so that they could be deployed in the Assam and West Bengal flanks of the 4,096-km long Indo-Bangla border to better check smuggling, infiltration and other cross-border crimes.

The border guarding force had wanted a similar addition in numbers to effectively guard the Indo-Pak International Border (IB), especially in Punjab and Jammu regions where it faces frequent instances of unprovoked firing and ceasefire violations from the other side.

The BSF is responsible for providing security to eight ICPs at Attari in Punjab (India-Pakistan border), Petrapole, Chandrabangha and Hili in West Bengal, Dawki (Meghalaya), Akhaura (Tripura), Sutarkhandi (Assam) and Kawarpuchiah (Mizoram) along the Indo-Bangla border.

Sources said the sanction of new battalions to the BSF would also help it better rotate troops from forward locations to comparatively lesser tasked units in the mainland.

The ITBP has similarly pushed its case saying it wants to reduce the inter-BoP (border out post) distance along the icy Himalayan frontier that it is tasked to guard.

The frequent instances of transgressions and confrontations with the Chinese army at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) is also seen as the major reason for the ITBP seeking to enhance its numbers.

The mountain-trained force had recently got sanctions to set up at least 47 new BoPs along the border for effective control of the Himalayan border area.

The home ministry has three border guarding forces under its command, the third being the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) that is tasked with guarding Indian borders with Nepal and Bhutan.

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//economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/62724455.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

NEW DELHI: Laying emphasis on building infrastructure along the Indo-Pak and Sino-India borders, the government has sanctioned nearly Rs 370 crore to the BSF and the ITBP for construction of bunkers and special climate- controlled huts in forward areas, an official said today.

A total of Rs 369.84 crore has been sanctioned by the home ministry for construction of infrastructure for Border Security Force (BSF) and Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), the official told .

The amount will be spent for construction of bunkers, fortifying border out posts of the BSF along the Indo-Pak border, construction of climate-controlled huts, procurement of snow scooter for the ITBP besides other necessary works of the two forces.

The BSF guards the 2,526.86-km-long Indo-Pak border, including 237.2 km of the Line of Control, and 4096.7 km of the Indo-Bangladesh border.

The Indo-Pak border has been witnessing massive ceasefire violation from across the border since the beginning of 2017. At least four BSF personnel were killed in firing by Pakistan this month.

ITBP guards the 3,488-km-long Sino-India border that runs through Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh. The force is specially trained to operate in high altitude mountainous terrain.

ITBP border out posts are of the height up to 18,750 feet where the temperature dips down minus 40 degree Celsius. ACB ZMN