Darjeeling district police have installed CCTV cameras at the India-Nepal border to mitigate border crimes and keep a tab on thousands of people who cross the border every day.

Unlike the India-Bangladesh border, the borders that India shares with Nepal and Bhutan are open.

“We have installed 13 CCTV cameras at Panitanki on the India-Nepal border. They will help us monitor people’s movement and traffic and also identify criminals,” said Manoranjan Ghosh, additional superintendent of Darjeeling district police.

Panitanki, around 35km from here, is on the international border with Kakarvitta of eastern Nepal on the other side. It is one of the principal routes used by citizens of both countries. The central paramilitary force Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) guards it.

According to police sources, there are reports of rising smuggling activities along the border that lacks fences.

“Narcotics, animal parts and other contraband have been seized. Criminals, including militants and linkmen of the Kamtapur Liberation Organisation (KLO), have been arrested from the border. It is necessary to intensify the vigilance as cases of infiltration have also been reported,” said a police officer.

“With cameras, the registration plates of all vehicles that move through the border are clearly visible and can be recorded at the surveillance room set up in Panitanki,” the officer added.

In due course, the police will install similar cameras in some stretches of hilly roads in Darjeeling, Kurseong, and Mirik.

Every day, around 5,000 people from Nepal cross the Mechi river bridge and visit Panitanki on various errands. Hundreds of tourists also use the route to enter India from Nepal and vice-versa. Trucks from India, Bangladesh, and Nepal, which carry various items, move through the bridge, as do hundreds of private vehicles.