bsf seeks additional battalion to check cross border drones in punjab

Jalandhar/New Delhi: The Border Security Force (BSF) has sought deployment of an additional battalion to prevent entry of drones from Pakistan into Punjab border carrying narcotics and ammunition. The BSF currently has around 20 battalions to guard Punjab’s over 500-km border with Pakistan, of which 18 are “actively deployed” along the border while the rest have been deployed at the Attari Integrated Check Post in Amritsar and Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur district in view of the requirements of the Kartarpur corridor.

A senior officer said that the drone threat that started around 2019-20 on Punjab’s border with Pakistan remains high in Amritsar and Tarn Taran border districts. He said that another BSF battalion has been sought to better secure the Punjab border. He said that this request is for the consideration of the Union Home Ministry. BSF Punjab Frontier Inspector General Atul Fuljele had recently said that drugs from the Pakistani border are now being sent to Punjab by air through drones instead of land route.

According to official data, more than 120 drones have been recovered by security agencies so far this year, while 107 such drones were seized during 2023. According to officials in Punjab and Delhi, the BSF wants to deploy more personnel to effectively protect the river areas on the Punjab border. 48 culverts are being constructed on the Ravi and Sutlej rivers on the Punjab border, of which 25 have been completed. Another official said that sewage gates and locks have been installed in the drains and these are regularly checked by BSF patrol teams. He said that the deployment of an additional battalion will provide around 800-900 personnel to better protect this front.

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