India has set up eight laser walls along the shared border with Pakistan and plans to activate four more over the next few days, Times of India reported, citing a senior Indian Border Security Force (BSF) official. While eight infra-red and laser beam intrusion detection systems are 'up and working' along as many vulnerable and sensitive areas of the international border (IB) in Punjab, four more will be operationalised in the next few days, the BSF official quoted by Indian media as saying.
A laser wall is a mechanism to detect objects passing the line of sight between the laser source and the detector. A laser beam over a river sets off a loud siren in case of a breach. The laser walls will cover stretches of treacherous terrain and riverine areas. India plans to cover more than 40 vulnerable unfenced stretches along the Pakistan border with laser walls, with the home ministry giving it a top priority to prevent any infiltration, Times of India said in an earlier report quoting a home ministry official. The laser walls will be monitored by the BSF, the report said.
India stepped up efforts to secure the border in wake of an attack on the Pathankot airbase, which India alleged was stormed by terrorists who crossed over from Pakistan. The suspected infiltration point of Ujj river in Bamiyal, which India alleged was used by six Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorists who attacked the airbase, was not covered by laser. The BSF covered this stretch by putting up a laser wall before Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the airbase on January 9. The border force had started putting up the wall on unfenced riverine stretches last year in Jammu sector, which was more prone to terrorist intrusions till three terrorists carried out an attack in Gurdaspur in Punjab in July.