GS Paul
Amritsar, March 24
After the full-body truck scanner (FBTS) installed at Attari-Wagah Integrated Check Post (ICP) could not prove its reliability due to a technical snag, the authorities have resorted to age-old practice of manual scanning of trucks laden with goods coming from across the border.
The Rs 23-crore FBTS is an X-ray device that detects arms, ammunition, explosives, detonators or any radioactive material, if concealed in any part of the truck. Officials had claimed that it could detect narcotics and fake currency too, but for these specific adjustments needed to be made to the equipment.
It is learnt that there was a technical snag in the software that senses the alignment, calibration and scanning images of the truck.
Sukhdev Singh, an official with the Land Port Authority of India (LPAI), the custodian of the ICP, said the FBTS was not in use as it required an upgrade in the software.
Rubbishing the reports of ‘scrapping’ the project, he said it was a technical snag that has to be rectified. He said it was for the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) to take the final call.
“So far, we have not received any communication about the FBTS. Since it’s a technical issue, I cannot comment on when it will be rectified,” he said.
Though India had suspended trade with Pakistan after the Pulwama attack and revocation of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir, trucks from Afghanistan have been entering India (Attari) via Wagah (Pakistan). On an average, nearly 25-30 trucks of dry fruits and herbal material from Afghanistan crossed over the Attari border daily through the ICP.
Sources said the Customs’ Department has shown its resentment to the LPAI for the failure of the FBTS and demanded an efficient system that could be relied on.
Punjab shares a 553-km long border with Pakistan. Narcotics are routed through the infamous Golden Triangle from Afghanistan and Pakistan to India.
Manual screening of trucks back at Attari ICP
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