The Hindu : Ceasefire eases fencing work along the Line of Control

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Dec 01, 2003

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Ceasefire eases fencing work along the Line of Control

By Shujaat Bukhari

LALPUL (URI) NOV. 30. The Id ceasefire has not only brought relief to the thousands of residents living along the Line of Control (LoC). It has also come as a boon to the Army in intensifying the fencing work.

The Uri sector covers 54 kilometres of the LoC of which fencing work has been completed in 32 kilometres. The rest of the work is likely to be completed by spring.

The Armymen have been braving bullets to take the material to the mountainous border. Now the work is going on in broad daylight in full view of the Pakistani posts across the border. Unlike the International Border (IB), which has taken a number of casualties during fencing, the work on the LoC which started in May this year has been going on without fanfare.Senior Army officers admit that the ceasefire has come as a relief as far as the work is concerned. "Due to continuous shelling from across the border, it was difficult to carry on the work smoothly,'' an officer said. Now that the situation is different, the workers are taking the fencing material on to the heights without any problem.

This is one of the most challenging tasks, as the terrain is difficult in the LoC and the line is not straight like the IB. Initially, the idea of fencing the LoC seemed to be impracticable but when it was drawn at the cost of Rs. 5,000 crores and work started in some areas, the Government decided to go ahead.

"This was the most objectionable project for Pakistan and they have been making all efforts to derail it by resorting to shelling almost everyday in the entire area of the LoC,'' the officer told The Hindu. But with ceasefire in place at least for next two months (till the SAARC summit is held), the work will pick up pace and "we will be ahead of the schedule."

The General Officer Commanding of the Northern Command, Hari Prasad, also maintained that the work was on without any delay. "It will be completed by June 2004 except in the Gurez sector where the work could be stretched up to December next year."

The Army is confident of preventing infiltration from the other side. It is not only the fencing, which is being put in place to keep the Pakistan-trained militant at bay, but also the thermal images and ground sensors, which, according to reports, have been imported from the United States. The thermal images are of great help to the Army in tracking the movement of infiltrators. It can detect movement of men up to three kilometres in complete darkness. Ground sensors, installed last year, are also of great help to thwart infiltration.

The fencing is likely to be done in 80 percent of the 778 kilometres of the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir. The work is on the verge of completion on 198 kilometres of the IB. However, there is no proposal to put any fencing along the Actual Ground Position Line, which runs through 110 kilometres, mostly on the Siachen glacier in Ladakh region.The fencing on the LoC, the officials say, is going to be different from the IB in Rajasthan, Punjab and Jammu, where it is 10 to 16 feet high. Here the maximum height is not going to cross eight feet and will not have three layers with a large amount of Constantine wire in between.Interestingly, a militant organisation has blamed Pakistan for facilitating the fencing from the Indian side on the LoC by announcing the ceasefire. This is aimed at stopping the movement of Mujahideen between the two parts of Kashmir, a statement from the outfit said.

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