Border Security Force Director-General Praveen Kumar concluded a four-day tour of the remote Sundarban delta on 14 July, inspecting newly installed smart fences and floating border posts along the treacherous Indo-Bangladesh river channels. The visit covered 120 km of water frontier where tidal creeks blur the boundary and human trafficking syndicates have been active. Kumar met local fishing communities and directed field commanders to finish the remaining 18 km of anti-cut fencing by September, ahead of the festival-season migration surge. The BSF is also trialling AI-enabled cameras that can distinguish between migrant rafts and fishing dinghies under poor-visibility conditions. For companies rotating staff through West Bengal’s emerging deep-sea-port projects, the tightened patrols mean trucks and supply boats may face longer identity checks. Logistics planners should build extra clearance time at the Petrapole-Benapole land port, where traffic is being rerouted during the fencing push. Bangladesh’s Border Guard (BGB) welcomed the measures, saying joint anti-smuggling exercises are planned for August. Analysts note that a more secure border could in the long run facilitate formalised labour corridors and tourism cruises in the UNESCO-listed mangrove region.
Source: India Defence Wire
