NEW DELHI — India has installed its first Radiation Detection Equipment at the Integrated Check Post at the Attari border between India and Pakistan amid the ongoing situation in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Aditya Mishra, the Chairman of the Land Ports Authority of India, a statutory body responsible for creating infrastructure in India, confirmed the first Radiation Detection Equipment at the Attari border.
“The device is called a full-body truck scanner in which entire trucks pass through,” said Mishra, explaining the concept.
“It is basically an X-ray of a truck to detect any smuggling of arms, ammunition, or other illegal articles. It will also catch smuggling of any radioactive materials.”
He said the machines will help the border guarding forces detecting and deter illicit trafficking or smuggling of radioactive materials across the international border.
All radiation monitoring devices consist of a radiosensitive detector and a means of recording the effects of radiation on the detector (i.e., the response of the detector).
Trade with Pakistan is suspended, but trucks from Afghanistan via Pakistan are entering the country through the Attari border. Every day, around 30 trucks of dry fruits and fruits from Afghanistan cross the Attari border.
An official said that India has trade via a land route with Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Bhutan, Pakistan, and Afghanistan (via Pakistan). There is no trade with China through land routes.
Notably, seven more Radiation Detection Equipments are also in the pipeline. The Land Ports Authority of India will install these Radiation Detection Equipments at the Integrated Check Posts at Attari (Pakistan border), Petrapole, Dawki, Agartala, and Sutarkani (Bangladesh Border), Moreh (Myanmar border), and Raxaul and Jogbani (Nepal border).
In 2017, there were nearly 18 thousand cases of cattle smuggling reported on the borders of India and Bangladesh, as per reports by Statista.
“Cow slaughter is forbidden in most parts of Hindu-majority India,” states the report.
“However, since Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power in 2014, Hindu nationalists have led a political campaign to enforce a ban on cow slaughter and stop cattle smuggling. This has led to an increase in cow vigilantism.”
The government of India has also been accused of obfuscating the data on cow smuggling to maintain their demand for continued cow vigilance.
A tender for installing Radiation Detection Equipment at all the remaining Integrated Check Posts on the borders has now been finally issued by the government a few days back.
Afghanistan exports to India are worth $410 million, with a partner share of 47.12 percent, as per the data of the World Bank.
Afghanistan exports to Pakistan are worth $299 million, with a partner share of 34.31 percent. Afghanistan exports to China are worth $31 million, with a partner share of 3.56 percent.
(With inputs from ANI)
Edited by Saptak Datta and Ritaban Misra
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