Flash floods damage Indo-Pak border fencing in J&K

Jammu: Flash floods triggered by heavy rains have damaged eight Border Out Posts (BOPs) and border fencing along the Indo-Pak border in Jammu and Kashmir.

Due to flash floods, eight BOPs in different forward areas of International Border (IB) in Jammu frontier area have suffered damages, a BSF officer said here on Friday. While 2-3 posts, one Observation Tower and other security infrastructure have been washed away in flash floods, 5 other posts have suffered damages in Kathua, Samba and Jammu districts due to flash floods last fortnight, he said. Besides this, 700-800 metres of border fencing in riverine belts in different areas of International Border (IB) in Jammu frontier area have also been damaged. Patches of 200-300 metres of border fencing have suffered damages each in Kathua, Samba and Jammu districts due to the flash floods, he said, adding that at some places, the border fencing has been fully washed away by the flash floods in riverine areas of Basantar belt. The Border Security Force (BSF) will undertake repair and re-construction of BOPs and border fencing soon after the threat of flash floods comes down, the official said. The troops guarding the borderline are keeping a close watch on the three-tier border fencing areas in view of the threat of infiltration from across the border, he said. Last year, BSF troops had repaired and re-constructed over 500 metres of long fencing patches along Indo-Pak border in Samba district which were damaged by the torrential rains and flash floods. Parts of three-tier border fencing along the IB was washed away in Nursery-Bandtop forward area of Ramgarh sub-sector of Samba district due to flash floods in Basantar river. Nearly 190 kilometres of border along IB in Jammu, Samba and Kathua districts from Moluchak (Akhnoor LoC) to Pathankot in Jammu is fenced and floodlighted to stop cross-border infiltration and smuggling of narcotics and weapons into the state from Pakistan. PTI