AGARTALA, Jan 9 � Tripura Frontier of BSF is all set to receive a chopper to maintain strict air surveillance along the Indo-Bangla border.
The advance light helicopter � Dhruv � developed by Hindustan Aeronautical Ltd is expected to reach here by end of this month or early next month, officials said here on Sunday.
�The hanger is ready to keep the chopper at Agartala Airport�, said Inspector General of Tripura Frontier BSF SK Jain in an exclusive interview with The Assam Tribune. He said, the chopper will be stationed here permanently to provide strategic and logistic support to the BSF personnel who are guarding the 856 km Indo-Bangla border.
According to him, though 90 per cent border has so far been fenced, there are reports of militant movement in unfenced areas. �This helicopter will provide a lot of edge to the jawans to intercept militant movement�, he said adding that it would also help border guards authority to supply food stuff to the air-maintained BOPs situated at inaccessible locations.
Besides using night vision devices, the BSF is going to apply non-lethal weapon (rifle) in the State within next month. �The special rubberised bullets will be used to hit the intruders, smugglers and miscreants. Presently, the security forces are using non-lethal weapons only in Kashmir to disperse mobs.
�Initially, the Frontier will use only ten non-lethal rifles and if the plan clicks then more weapons could be inducted�, the IG said adding the border guards have started using advance alarm system here to apprehend intruders or smugglers along the border. �It worked fine here. Only few days back, two smugglers were apprehended by using this device�, he claimed.
The IG said insurgency has come down drastically with the proactive action taken by the State police and other security forces. According to BSF assessment, the NLFT still runs seven hideouts in Bangladesh and ATTF had suffered a major jolt after split among higher ups.
To ensure effective border management, the Frontier has decided to establish twenty more BOPs by inducting one more border guards battalion.
Jain said that one more newly-raised battalion would be inducted in the Frontier by end of March this year taking the total battalions from 16 to 17. He said that the move to establish new BOPs had been taken to reduce the gap between BOPs from 4.5 km to 3.5 km.
�About 55 km Indo-Bangla border, is yet to be fenced and this unfenced border is being used by the militants for their movement. The ongoing construction of barbed wire fencing would be competed by end of March 2012, he claimed.
