In a bid to check illegal immigration and smuggling of arms, ammunition, drugs and cattle, a porous riverine section of the Indo-Bangladesh border in Assam will be put under electronic surveillance from Tuesday, said India’s Union Home Ministry (MHA) on Monday.

The ‘smart fencing’ will be operationalised in the 61 km riverine section of the international border in Dhubri district of Assam where the Brahmaputra river enters into Bangladesh, reports indianexpress.com.

The project, called BOLD-QIT (Border Electronically Dominated QRT Interception Technique), under the Comprehensive Integrated Border Management System (CIBMS), will be inaugurated by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh. It will cover the India-Bangladesh border in the area which consists of ‘char’ (sand islands) and many river channels, which makes border guarding difficult, especially during the rainy season, a statement by the MHA said.

To overcome this problem, the Ministry of Home Affairs had in 2017 decided to implement a technological solution besides the physical presence of Border Security Force (BSF) personnel. In January 2018, the information and technology wing of the BSF started the BOLD-QIT project.

BOLD-QIT aims to install technical systems under the CIBMS, enabling the BSF to equip the Indo-Bangla border in the unfenced riverine area of the Brahmaputra and its tributaries with various kind of sensors. The entire span of the Brahmaputra has been covered with the data network generated by Microwave communication, OFC Cables, DMR Communication, day and night surveillance cameras and intrusion detection system, the statement said.

These gadgets will provide feeds to the BSF control rooms along the border and enable the paramilitary force’s quick reaction teams to thwart any possibility of illegal border crossing and crimes.

‘The riverine section of Indo-Bangladesh border in Dhubri is considered to be highly porous where movement of illegal immigrants and smuggling of arms, ammunition and other goods are very common. The smart fencing will solve the problem to a great extent,’ a Home Ministry official said.