He said two village police officers have been deployed in each of the 14 villages. The village police officers (VPOs) are local residents and will work in tandem with village-level defence committees (VLDCs) to keep a check on any suspicious movement in their villages.
Whenever any drone movement is noticed in a village, the VPO will activate the VLDC and will also inform the police control room, he said.
AdvertisementTill the time a police team reaches the spot, the VPO along with the VLDC will cordon off the area where any contraband or weapon has been dropped off by a Pakistani drone to prevent its retrieval by any miscreant or smuggler, the police said.
The initial response will be triggered without any delay, followed by a secondary response within a span of five to 10 minutes, and a tertiary response within 15 to 20 minutes, resulting in the swift apprehension of individuals involved in unlawful activity, the police said.
VLDCs have been set up in border districts of Punjab to keep a check on suspicious movement.
Gurdaspur Deputy Commissioner Himanshu Aggawal said VLDCs comprising 11 members each have been set up in 265 villages which are located within 15 km of the international border.
VLDC members are mainly village heads, ex-servicemen or influential persons and if they see any suspicious activity, they inform the authority concerned, Mr Aggarwal said.
WhatsApp groups of VLDCs have been formed to share information and a joint command and control centre has been set up in the deputy commissioner's office.
"We are motivating them (VLDC members) to be the defenders of their villages," Mr Aggarwal said.
The Gurdaspur district administration was praised by the Punjab governor for setting up VLDCs in villages up to 15 km from the international border.
"Ninety-four cameras have been installed across the district, especially in the border areas, and the live feed of these cameras is jointly monitored by police and civil officials," the deputy commissioner said.
He said 30 panchayats in Gurdaspur have already passed resolutions that they will not allow any drug activity in their villages and will make their villages completely drug-free in the next six months.
Last month, the Punjab Police declared a reward of Rs 1 lakh for information on drone movement leading to the recovery of weapons and narcotics.
The state government has sanctioned Rs 20 crore for the installation of CCTV cameras at strategic locations in the border villages to keep a strict vigil on the movement of drones and cross-border smugglers.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
