By IANS,
Lucknow : The special police force tasked with keeping vigil on the Indo-Nepal border plans to beef up its presence on the 84-km-long stretch in Uttar Pradesh, in view of the alarming increase in anti-national activities across the porous boundary.
“We are planning to establish outposts at every two to three km, with two larger facilities in the Rupaidiha and Sunauli towns to monitor illegal movement of people across the border”, Inspector General of Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), Satyavrata told IANS on phone.
Besides increased policing, the SSB is also planning to issue identity cards to people moving frequently across the border.
However, according to SSB sources, a similar proposal was sent last year to the Ministry of External Affairs but no response has been received so far.
Besides a huge supply of counterfeit Indian currency smuggled across in the recent past, the border has also witnessed the movement of illegal weapons and drugs and animal smuggling.
Two Sri Lankans were arrested Friday with a huge catch of drugs in Barabanki, 28 km from Lucknow, which they confessed they had obtained from Nepal and were smuggling it to their country via Chennai.
“We have also come across a number of instances when Pakistani intelligence agents and Maoists take advantage of the porous border and pump in fake currency and weapons in India”, Satyavrata added.
Besides fake currency, arms and drugs, the border also witnesses activities of poachers and animal smugglers as the Katarniaghat forest reserve, spread across Bahraich, Shravasti and Balrampur districts – sharing borders with Nepal – is a safe hunting ground specially for tigers, elephants and other wild animals.