On a day when several cities, including the national capital, witnessed widespread protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) must ensure that India’s borders with friendly neighbours are not misused for activities against the country, while seeing to it that the people living in border areas are not adversely affected. “India has an open border of around 2,450 kilometres with neighbouring countries Nepal and Bhutan and the SSB has performed a good job in ensuring that not a single infiltrator sneaked into our country,” he said while presiding over the 56th Raising Day Parade of SSB in New Delhi. He praised the force for nabbing over 50 intruders, mostly Pakistanis, at Indo-Nepal border in the last one year, besides nabbing contraband items, including drugs worth Rs 380 crore. He added that India cannot become a global economic power if its borders are not secure, especially when the country has hostile neighbours constantly engaged in cross-border terrorism, insurgency, illicit trafficking of humans, drugs, fake currency, cattle, among others. The SSB is the first central paramilitary force that included women in its ranks, he said adding that the lady officers had earned accolades with their brilliant performances within the country as well as UN Missions abroad.
