The Hindu : National : Lower Munda blast reveals the chinks

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, May 26, 2004

National

National

Lower Munda blast reveals the chinks

By Praveen Swami

NEW DELHI, MAY 25. Sunday's bombing of a Border Security Force (BSF) bus at Lower Munda, on the Srinagar-Jammu highway, which is National Highway 1A, has underlined the vulnerability of the sole road link the rest of the country has with the Kashmir Valley. Besides, there are fears that terrorists could seek to block the Jawahar Tunnel, which enables movement across the Banihal Pass in winter.

Terrorists have regularly targeted the Srinagar-Jammu highway over a long period. Most of the attacks have been along the Lower Munda stretch, a 6.2-km length that accounts for 22 culverts and dozens of retaining walls, structures where hiding mines and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) is not difficult.

An explosion in November 2002 claimed the lives of 11 Army troops and family members, and left 24 injured. Since then, ambushes and bomb attacks have claimed the lives of over two dozen people, both civilians and military personnel.

Responsibility for securing the stretch of the highway hit by yesterday's bombing was recently assigned to the 64 Battalion of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), which replaced Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) personnel.

In the morning, the G company of the 64 Battalion had carried out a sweep but found nothing.

"It is very unlikely that the explosive could have been fitted under the culvert in the course of the day because of the heavy traffic,'' a senior official connected with the investigation told The Hindu.

If the CRPF did miss a large explosive device planted under the culvert the previous night, it would suggest that the road-protection sweep was carried out casually. According to experts, a bomb capable of causing the kind of destruction seen in Lower Munda would have consisted of at least 20 kg of high-grade plastic explosive. Given that the device would have contained a substantial amount of metal — mainly in the form of shrapnel — even a cursory sweep with a mine detector ought to have triggered an alarm.

Physical inspection under the bridge would have immediately led to the detection of the IED.

Experts, however, say that the real problem lies in the shortage of personnel, dog squads and hi-tech equipment. Assuming that search parties spend just five minutes checking each culvert in Lower Munda, and another hour to walk the stretch, three hours would go by before the area could be secured.

However, NH 1A opens for traffic at 7 a.m. Road protection sweeps are not possible in the dark because of the risk of ambushes, and this forces the troops to rush through the road-opening procedure after first light.

In practice, search parties check only every third or fourth culvert.

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