Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, August 9

Inspector-General of BSF (Punjab Frontier) Atul Fulzele on Friday said the newer versions of drones coming from Pakistan side have become smaller in size, fly up to a height of 1 km and are not easily detectable.

BSF providing IELTS training to youngsters

• BSF IG Atul Fulzele said various training programmes were being offered for the wards of the civilians in the border areas as part of goodwill gesture. He said mobile repair training modules were being carried out to make the youth employable
• “Recently, we have opened an IELTS centre at 103 Battalion of the BSF in Amarkot. The villagers had approached us seeking free IELTS coaching for which we even hired trainers. Three girls from the area have qualified the exam,” he said
• IELTS is one of the most sought after English language proficiency tests for study, migration or work abroad. An estimated 30 lakh people take the test every year

During a half-yearly briefing with the media at the BSF headquarters here, the IG said 137 drones had been seized by the force since January 1 along with 28 weapons, including pistols and two AK rifles, and 160.28 kg of heroin. The IG said land smuggling, even through underground pipes, had become negligible over the years and almost all influx of weaponry and drugs was being made via drones.

Fulzele said all drones were being tested in a drone laboratory and had been found to be Chinese with brandname Mavic. He said: “Earlier, the drones which were being flown had a payload capacity of 3-4 kg, had a detectable sound and could even be viewed visually but the newer versions of drones could carry only 500 g weight and emit no sound. For the new-age drones, we are deploying a different counter strategy as there is a higher chance of missing them.”