Shah inaugurated the Border Out post (BOP) buildings of Fatehpur, Pektola, Beria, Amgachi, and Raniganj at Fatehpur BOP and interacted and had refreshments with personnel there. He also visited and offered his prayers at Budhi Kali Mata Temple.
He said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has provided many facilities for the security forces of the country, some of which are being inaugurated today.
Shah reviewed the security issues while taking a review meeting of India's all three border guarding forces-- Border Security Force (BSF), Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) and Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP)-- at Bihar' Kishanganj district during his two-day visit to the state.
The meeting was attended by the Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai; Director Generals of BSF, SSB, ITBP; and other senior officials of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), BSF, SSB and ITBP.
The minister said that the residence of Jawans, NCO barracks, outpost in-charge residence, mess, armoury, storage and solar power plant of about 10-kilowatt capacity are being inaugurated today. Along with this, buildings have been constructed on 5 acres of land in Pekatola at a cost of ₹7.50 crore, in Beriya at a cost of ₹4.5 crore, and in Araria and Raniganj at a cost of about ₹3.5 crore.
The SSB has a history and since the policy of one nation and one border security force was adopted by the Government of India from the time of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee since the important responsibility of the security of the open borders of Indo-Nepal and Indo-Bhutan has been given to the SSB and this force has fulfilled its responsibility very well.
He said that the open borders need to be guarded more tactfully and carefully and SSB has been successful in preventing any kind of illegal activity by doing this work efficiently.
Shah said that when Left Wing Extremism was at its peak in Bihar and Jharkhand, the SSB personnel made a huge contribution to the fight against the outfit, which the country can never forget.
SSB Jawans fought a tough battle against Naxalism and rooted it out in the Eastern region of the country by making supreme sacrifices as a result of this, today Naxalism in Bihar and Jharkhand is almost on the verge of ending. He said that when the border is open, the use of technology becomes very important.
"Be it CCTVs or drones, the security of borders should be ensured by adopting a variety of technologies. He said that all the forces should adopt the technology by adopting each other's good practices as technology can become a great medium to secure borders," Shah said.
He said that the area under SSB is close to the Siliguri Corridor which is a very sensitive area for our country.
"We have West Bengal, Sikkim, and Assam on one side and on the other side Nepal, Bhutan, and Bangladesh. This whole border area is very sensitive and especially in the sensitive corridor like Siliguri you have to act more cautiously while performing your duties."
Shah said that the security forces of the country play an important role in maintaining law and order, relief and rescue operations during disasters, and conducting fair elections.
"Between 2008 and 2014, around Rs, 23,700 crore was spent. But after the formation of the government under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi, the amount has been increased to ₹44,600 crore.", the minister said.
With the inputs from the ANI
