Bhuj, May 29 (IANS) Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday said the Centre had begun accelerating border fencing work in West Bengal after the newly-formed Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in the state granted in-principle approval for the transfer of land required for the project.

Addressing Border Security Force (BSF) personnel during an interaction at Border Outpost G7 in Gujarat’s Bhuj, HM Shah described incomplete fencing along the India-Bangladesh border in Bengal as one of the “biggest weaknesses” in India’s border security grid.

“The biggest weakness in our security grid was the incomplete border fencing in Bengal,” Shah said.

He said geographical challenges in some stretches could not be altered, but fencing work had remained incomplete even in areas where land was available because the required space had not been given earlier.

“We cannot change geographical conditions. But even where fencing could be constructed on available land, we had not received the land till now,” he said.

Referring to the recent political change in the state, HM Shah said the new BJP government in West Bengal had moved quickly on the issue after assuming office.

“Just a few days ago, with the blessings of the people of Bengal, a BJP government was formed there in a completely democratic manner, and within one week the Chief Minister gave in-principle approval to provide all land required for fencing,” he said.

According to him, work on transferring portions of the land had already begun. “Once this fencing is completed, we will succeed in stopping infiltration on a very large scale,” the Home Minister said.

He added that after physical fencing was completed, forests, rivers and streams would remain the only vulnerable stretches, and the government was simultaneously working on technological fencing systems for such terrain.

“Then only forests, rivers and streams will remain as possible routes, and we are simultaneously working at great speed on technological fencing for those areas as well,” he said.

The Home Minister said the government was integrating technology-based surveillance systems with conventional border management to strengthen security along both the Pakistan and Bangladesh borders.

During the interaction, HM Shah also outlined the Centre’s ‘Smart Border Security Project’, which includes the use of drones, radars, watch towers and other modern surveillance systems.

The Home Minister was in Bhuj as part of his visit to review security infrastructure and operational preparedness in the Sir Creek and Harami Nala sectors along the India-Pakistan border.

–IANS

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