The BSF is waiting for the state government to acquire land along the stretch we have identified, said DG. (AP)

India will build a raised embankment along a 179-km stretch on the Jammu sector to pre-empt infiltration or shelling from across the Pakistan border, says the BSF chief. The embankment, or bund, will be around 135 feet (41 metres) wide and 10 metres high and will accommodate bunkers and border outposts.

"The BSF is waiting for the state government to acquire land along the stretch we have identified. The embankment will be followed by fencing," says Subhash Joshi, DG BSF. "There are a few riverine patches too. We are looking for technological solutions to secure those."

An official said they were waiting for no-objection-certificates from at least 24 MLAs. This is necessary under the state's land acquisition laws. "Land in 29 villages has already been acquired," says R K Varma, divisional commissioner of Samba in Jammu. Similar exercises have been initiated in Kathua and Jammu districts too.

"The process hasn't begun in at least two villages in my jurisdiction, Chak Parthyal and Kazalkhurd; the area is rigged with mines planted in 1971 and 1999," Varma says. The DG said the BSF will help the state administration de-mine the areas.

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