Security of borders can be ensured by bravery, alertness of soldiers, not by fencing: Amit Shah

Pillars and fences along the borders are no match to alertness and bravery of soldiers guarding them which is further augmented by patriotic villagers living in close vicinity to the forward locations, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Thursday.

While launching a mobile application ‘Prahari’ prepared in-house by the BSF and the manual of the border guarding force, Shah also suggested that under the Vibrant Village Programme, the personnel should make efforts for increasing tourism to villages but did not further elaborate on it.

Security of the country’s borders cannot be ensured by pillars or fencing, but only by the bravery, patriotism and alertness of the soldiers standing on the border, he said.

The home minister said the BSF guards the most difficult border of the country. After former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee conceptualised ‘One Border One Force’, the responsibility of guarding borders with Pakistan and Bangladesh had come to the BSF.

He said the brave soldiers of the BSF are manning these borders with great vigilance, strength and promptness as well as consistent efforts.

Shah said the security of the borders can be ensured only when the border villages are populated. Along with the deployment of soldiers on the borders, only the patriotic citizens living in the village can provide permanent security and all the border guarding forces should strengthen them.

He said in the last three years, 26,000 kg of narcotics and 2,500 arms and ammunition were seized by the BSF. Although the anti-drone technology on the border is still at the experimental stage, it has been successful to a great extent, he said.

The home minister said in the last six months, the BSF has shot down 22 drones on the western border, which is a huge achievement. Success is also being achieved against the drones carrying weapons to spread narcotics and terrorism with nefarious intentions, he said.

Shah said a ‘BSF Drone/UAV and Cyber Forensic Lab’ has been set up in Noida, through which captured drones have been thoroughly mapped for their linkages and locations across the border.

Earlier, while chairing meeting, Shah bats for Union Territoriesshould be guided by five principles that include ensuring security and achieving saturation in flagship schemes for its overall development.

Addressing a conference on Union Territories organised by the Ministry of Home Affairs, Shah said the UTs are small in geographical size and have a relatively simple administrative set up, and therefore they are ideal prototypes to experiment with pilot programmes.

He said these experiments can be tested on a small scale in UTs and then replicated in larger regions and states.

Shah said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has kept the ‘Panch Pranas’ of ‘Amrit Kaal’ and every UT administration should imbibe the spirit of these ‘Panch Pranas’ in the performance of their duties.

“The UTs should be guided by these five principles: creation of safe and secure UTs, achieving saturation in flagship schemes; minimum government, maximum governance; zero tolerance towards corruption; and develop best practices for the overall development of the UTs,” he said.

The home minister emphasised on making UTs a role model for the country and said that if the potential of UTs is fully harnessed, India will be able to achieve the goal of becoming the third largest economy in the world.

Directing the UTs to prepare their vision for 2047, he said they should take inspiration from prime minister’s motto of “vocal for local” and “Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat” while striving to become a hub of tourism, development and welfare.

Shah said all UTs should come together and work synergistically on a common platform to achieve the national objectives and vision and take the country forward in the journey of development.

He said the focus should be on cooperatives, especially in the fisheries sector, for development and public participation.

At the same time, he said, UTs should focus on increasing their manufacturing sector to reduce their dependence on external resources to reduce the loss of revenue.

The home minister said tourist circuits should be developed in the country to attract more people and reduce the cost of transportation etc.

He said all UTs have been given a roadmap for 2047 and an action plan for the next five years and the goals set for the next five years to be achieved. An annual plan should also be drawn up, he said.
Shah said development should reach the grassroots level.

The indicator of development cannot be measured only by the rising figures of GDP, but can be measured only by the positive impact it has on the remotest and most deprived people of the society, he said.
He called upon all UTs to exchange best practices and stressed on safe UTs, completion of flagship schemes, minimum government and maximum governance and zero tolerance against corruption.