Going hi-tech on border surveillance Of drones and sensor systems

Robust and ‘smart’ border management framework. This is the line stressed by the Secretary (Border Management) of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs while reviewing the security architecture and infrastructure project along the Indo-Myanmar border on December 20. The Union Secretary was not on holiday or on a sight seeing tour of the border, but was there to assess the situation after reports came of the border fencing being breached by at least 200 metres on December 2. And it remains that India will need to do more than survey the works currently underway at the border but study why the border fencing was found taken apart. This is but just a solitary case of the fence being pulled apart coming to the notice of the Government and there could be many cases of intruders from across the border having entered Indian soil undetected. This is what is worrying and it should also be more than obvious that the border fence cannot just be dismantled by some seeking to enter surreptitiously but could have had the needed support and co-operation from people living on the Indian side of the border. This is what is worrying. Long before Manipur went up in flames on May 3, 2023, The Sangai Express had taken serious note of the reports of ‘refugees’ entering Manipur, and had suggested  that it would be far more practical for the State Government to sort of open some refugee camps so that those who have fled the neighbouring country can be given a place to stay and yet at the same time their movement can be monitored. Back then, the State Government refused to note the suggestion, sticking to the narrative that there is no refugee from across the border. The reality however told a different story and it was only after Manipur went up in flames that focus was laid on the need to document those who had crossed the border. The suggestion of The Sangai Express back then came from watching the developments in Mizoram, which struck a far more practical approach to the issue and taking note of the close filial ties shared between the people had insisted on setting up designated camps where those who had crossed over can be kept. This served at least two purposes and that is to help monitor the movement of the people from across the border and at the same time keep a check on the propensity to merge with the local people and in due course of time become one of the natives. Manipur unfortunately refused to take note of the reality and even as the place is fast marching towards the three year mark of the violence erupting, no one seems to know what has happened to the number of people who crossed over and were found staying on rent at Churachandpur. News of the illegals made it to Page 1 of all the Imphal based newspapers back then, and it has remained that, with just the story and nothing to show what further steps the Government had taken up.
The Government should acknowledge that the border fence that was found breached on December 2 would not have been possible without the active ‘co-operation’ of the people living on the Indian side of the border. What steps has the Government taken up in pursuance of the case ? Has the Government been able to work out if there were anyone who managed to cross over after the fencing was breached ? The breached fencing was discovered on December 2 and how long was it before it was detected ? Was it discovered immediately or did it come to the notice of the authority only after some days had passed ? These are questions which ought to be studied with the seriousness it deserves. Changbol village in Chandel district is the place where the breached border fencing, lying between Border Pillars 67 and 68 was detected and the question is whether any follow up action was initiated at the said village ? Has the village chief been questioned ? Was any search conducted at Changbol village and the adjoining areas ? Going hi-tech with the deployment of drones and sensor systems is definitely welcome, but equally important too would be to study and understand the close filial ties shared between the people on either side of the border, and it is this tie which will serve as the primary source of cross border movement.