‘Border security cannot function in isolation’: Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Tripura

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on June 5 announced that pilot projects for a new “smart border” system will be launched at seven to eight locations across India, with Tripura identified as a key frontier in the government's plan to strengthen border security through advanced technology and closer coordination with local authorities.

Addressing Border Security Force (BSF) personnel during a visit to the Lankamura Border Outpost near Agartala, Shah said the concept of smart borders has reached its final stage and will be implemented through a technology-driven security network involving drones, sensors and smart fencing.

He said the Centre is developing a “quadrangular foolproof security grid” that will combine the efforts of security forces, local administration and modern surveillance systems to make international borders more secure. According to Shah, border protection can no longer function in isolation and requires coordination between district administrations, police, village-level officials and border guarding forces.

Shah also announced that 119 km of ageing border fencing, out of around 650 km that is more than 15 years old, will be replaced as part of efforts to modernise border infrastructure.

The Home Minister said the pilot phase would help identify operational challenges before the smart border model is expanded across the country's frontiers. He added that all areas guarded by the BSF and the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) would eventually be covered under the initiative.

Highlighting Tripura's strategic importance, Shah described the state as highly sensitive due to its international borders on three sides. He said securing the frontier was crucial to tackling cross-border crimes such as smuggling, human trafficking and drug trafficking.

Shah also reviewed facilities at the Lankamura Border Outpost and said projects related to electricity supply, green energy and drinking water for security personnel had been completed in border areas.

During the visit, he interacted with BSF personnel and planted an agar sapling in Agartala as part of a World Environment Day programme.

Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha, senior officials from the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Intelligence Bureau and the BSF were present during the visit.