In view of continued smuggling and infiltration along the Indo-Bangladesh frontier, the Border Security Force has decided to set up a marine battalion to man the strategic, yet hostile terrains of the Sundarbans mangrove forests.
The conceived battalion will consist of 1,100 personnel, along with a squadron of about 40 drones and all-terrain vehicles or ATVs, as per officials. The blueprint of the plan has been prepared by the BSF’s Eastern Command and sent to the Union Home Ministry for approval.
“The Sundarbans is a strategic and vital area along the India-Bangladesh international border. Its effective domination and security are the need of the hour, given inputs suggesting that this tricky forest and riverine area could be used for cross-border infiltration of terrorists and criminals,” said a senior BSF officer.
In addition to seeking approval from the Home Ministry, the BSF has written to the Bengal Government, seeking permission to station a small team of its patrol parties (personnel on foot patrol) inside Forest Department ‘chowkis’ located inside the Sundarbans, often approachable by motorboats.
One of the most treacherous forests in the world, thanks to its complex network of tidal backwaters several kilometers wide, narrow tidal creeks, and channels, the Sundarbans lies on the delta of the Ganges, Brahmaputra, and Meghna rivers at the mouth of the Bay of Bengal. A cluster of low-lying islands, the Sundarbans spans about 10,000 sq km across India and Bangladesh, with 40 per cent of it lying in this part of the border.
Last December, the BSF set up a floating border outpost or BOP deep inside the Sundarbans, named BOP Ganga, which is an all-women border outpost comprising an 11-member patrol team. It was the first time in the history of the paramilitary forces that a platoon of Mahila Praharis (women constables) was deployed for border patrolling and operation of a floating BOP in difficult terrain like the Sundarbans, according to a former DIG, BSF. He said the difficult zone, infested with a hostile climate, muddy tidal land, Royal Bengal Tigers, crocodiles, and poisonous snakes, made the task of the security forces even more challenging.
“We had started a border outpost at Shamsherganj quite a few years ago, but with the rising activities of smuggling and infiltration through snorkeling and many other ways, it has become most imperative to devise newer ideas to keep things under control. The special battalion will precisely meet the requirements,” he said.
