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| | BSF fears more tunnels along IB | | | JAMMU, Aug 3 (Agencies): The discovery of an underground tunnel running from Pakistan to India in Samba district of Jammu has the Border Security Force (BSF) worried. They fear there could be many more such tunnels running across the borders that are being used by militants to push weapons into Jammu and Kashmir.
Residents of border villages in Jammu where an underground tunnel made by Pakistan has been detected are irked over the delay in dismantling the pathway saying it was affecting their crops.
Nothing has been done to dismantle the Pakistani tunnel in our border village even after its detection seven days ago. Our fears are increasing day by day due to the delays, village head of Chechwal Border hamelt Balbir Singh said.
He added that farming has been hit in the villages through which the tunnel has passed.
Chachwal with a population of over 2,000 is located barely one kilometer from the International Border (IB) and 700 meters from the three-tier border fencing area.
On Thursday, the Director General of BSF U K Bansal, who rushed to Samba for an on-the-spot inspection of the tunnel, said India would strongly take up the matter with Pakistani authorities. He said such activities from Pakistan destroy the confidence building measures between the two countries.
"This is a serious matter, there could more such tunnels, we have no methods to find that out, but we will have to remain more cautious about their existence," Mr Bansal said.
The 400 metres tunnel, dug at a depth of 25 feet, was recently detected after an area caved in near a BSF outpost, due to rains. The tunnel even had ventilation pipes. It runs exactly below the border fence, which has been erected on the Indian side to prevent infiltration.
"This is definitely something which goes against confidence building measures which are being initiated between the two countries, and in the long run any such attempts are likely to produce disturbances along the border," added Bansal.
With Independence Day less than two weeks away, security forces fear that the tunnel may have been prepared for sending in more arms and men into India. |
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