Excelsior Correspondent
SAMBA, Feb 29: Encouraging border residents to cultivate their land ahead of border fence, a top BSF officer on Thursday said the Home Ministry has approved a plan for the construction of a protection bund along the International Border for the safety of farmers and it will be completed within next five years.
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Inspector General of Border Security Force (BSF), Jammu frontier, D K Boora was speaking at a function organised at Chamliyal village near the zero line in Samba district to hand over a cheque of Rs 3 lakh to a villager who helped in the recovery of a grounded Pakistani drone in January.
Samba Senior Superintendent of Police Vinay Kumar and other prominent people attended the function.
“We want the farmers to tend their land ahead of the border fence as the BSF is there for your protection. We will provide you with all the assistance and if you are concerned that you won’t be able to cultivate your produce, we will not allow such a situation to develop in the first place,” the BSF officer said.
Boora, however, said in case the farmers on the Indian side are not able to reap their produce, the BSF will not allow the other side to cultivate as well.
He said the Home Ministry has already approved a proposal for the construction of a protection bund along the IB for the safety of the farmers working in their fields ahead of the border fence.
“The protection bund will be completed within the next four to five years, depending on the availability of the funds. After the completion of the protection bund, you can carry out your work easily without any threat (from the enemy),” he said.
Boora said there are rules in place while moving ahead of the border fence and “we need to follow those rules. BSF is deployed on the borders in J-K, Punjab, Rajasthan, Gujarat, West Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram and all these areas are protected by border fences and the rules are the same everywhere.”
Boora said the Central Government has announced many schemes for the development of border villages and the impact of these schemes will be visible on the ground in the next five years.
Highlighting the importance of border residents in safeguarding the country, border security is incomplete without the cooperation of the border population.
“We are proud of our border population in Jammu region who are nationalist by core,” he said, adding that in neighbouring Punjab, drug smuggling from across the border is a major challenge.
“The drugs are coming by drones and other means in Punjab because there are some elements who are promoting the business. When our own people are involved in such criminal activities, it becomes difficult (for the law enforcing agencies to tackle the situation),” he said, adding that when the border residents are nationalists, the entire focus of the border guarding forces remains on the front rather than looking behind.
Highlighting the cooperation of the border residents in securing the borders of the country, he said Dass had done a very good job for which he was rewarded.
SSP Sharma said the police headquarters had announced rewards to anyone sharing information regarding anti-national activities and Dass was handed over the cheque of Rs 3 lakh for helping in the recovery of enemy drones in January this year.
He said there is also a reward of Rs 5 lakh for anyone who locates the trans-border tunnel, used by anti-national elements to tranship terrorists, explosives, and contraband consignments into Jammu and Kashmir from across the border.
“People have always been supportive in providing information to the forces. The rewards were announced just to glorify, certify and celebrate such people,” he said.
Dass thanked the BSF and the police for rewarding him and said it is the duty of every individual to expose the enemy conspiracies and safeguard the country alongside the forces.
“I was doing spray in my agriculture land on January 17 when I found a drone lying on the ground. I immediately informed BSF who later gave me Rs 50,000,” he said, thanking police for the reward of Rs three lakhs.
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