Tribune News Service
Amritsar, October 7
After the Taliban’s return in Afghanistan, India has tightened the security at the Integrated Check Post (ICP), located on the Attari border, by making the radiation-detection equipment (RDE) operational.
How X-ray machine functions
- The full body truck scanner (FBTS) is an X-ray device that can detect arms, ammunition, explosives, detonators or any radioactive material, if concealed in any part of the truck
- It can detect narcotics and fake currency too, but for this, specific adjustments need to be made to the equipment
This equipment, known as a full-body truck scanner (FBTS), is an X-ray device that can detect arms, ammunition, explosives, detonators or any radioactive material, if concealed in any part of the truck. Officials said it could detect narcotics and fake currency too, but for this, specific adjustments needed to be made to the equipment.
Though India had suspended trade ties with Pakistan after the Pulwama attack and revocation of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir, the trucks from Afghanistan have been entering India (Attari) via Wagah (Pakistan).
While Taliban leaders have assured India that they won’t allow any one to use their soil to play mischief, India is cautious of undercover forces operating in Pakistan.
Sukhdev Singh, an official with the Land Port Authority of India (LPAI), the custodian of the ICP, Attari, said despite a tense situation, nearly 30 trucks of dry fruits from Afghanistan crossed the Attari border.
“We have deputed dedicated staff to operate the FBTS which minutely scans the goods carried on trucks from Afghanistan. It takes us just five minutes to scan a truck. Otherwise, it takes us at least 20-25 minutes. Still, a manual checking is being done randomly for the second time by customs officials to leave no room for error,” he said.
Costing around Rs 23 crore, the FBTC is the first-of-its-kind device that was announced to be installed by the then Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju in 2017. The project, which commenced in March 2018, has so far missed several deadlines — October 2018, December 2018, May 2019, June 2019 and August 2019, followed by Covid-19 lockdown restrictions.
Now, full-body truck scanner at Attari to check smuggling of arms
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