The BSF has hung scores of empty glass bottles from a 3.5km-stretch of the barbed wire fence along the India-Bangladesh frontier in Cooch Behar as part of a simple yet effective alert system to protect the border.
The bottles have been tied to the fence erected by residents of a village contiguous to a Bangladesh enclave.
After the downfall of the Sheikh Hasina government in the neighbouring country, tension along the borders became apparent in the past few months, necessitating measures to intensify security and surveillance along the 4,000km-plus frontier, a significant part of which remains porous.
"The sound of glass bottles clinking together can serve as an alert.... If someone tries to cross the border or tamper with the barbed fences, the movement will cause the bottles to make noise, raise an alarm and keep the intruders away," said a source.
Following the unrest in Bangladesh after the change of guard in the country, residents of Bengal villages along the unfenced stretches of the international border have been urging the BSF to erect fences for their safety.
The residents of Andaran-Kharkharia, a village in Bagdogra-Fulkadabri panchayat that shares borders with Dahagarm-Angarpota, the sole Bangladeshi enclave connected to the mainland through the Tinbigha corridor, put up fences on their own.
Despite objections from the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), the villagers fenced a stretch of 3.5km, saying it was necessary to save their lives and crops.
The fences that the villagers have put up are four to five feet high. The fences erected by the CPWD for the BSF are 10 to 15 feet high or even more.
“That is why the BSF has hung glass bottles along the entire stretch of the fence we have installed. It is an alert system and increases visibility along the border," said Anup Roy, who had taken a lead role in fencing the village near Mekhliganj.
He pointed out that over the years, Bangladeshi infiltrators used the unfenced stretch of the enclave for smuggling or to enter India.
“After we put up the fences, illegal activities have stopped in the area. The Bangladeshi criminals used to steal our crops just before harvest. It has also stopped,” said another resident of Andaran-Kharkharia.
A retired army officer in Cooch Behar said the practice of hanging glass bottles from border fences was prevalent in Kashmir. “The defence forces hang the bottles from the barbed-wire fences so that any attempt to cut or tamper with the fences can be averted,” he said.