Harami Nala
Translated as the "rogue or treacherous channel”.
Harami Nala is a natural water body, approximately 25 kilometres long that flows west to east from Pakistan into Kutch just south of the Vighakot sector.
It is flanked by vast marshy mud flats that are affected by low and high tides.
About 22 odd kilometres of the channel lie on the Indian side of the “vertical line” of the International Boundary (IB) between India and Pakistan which itself is not contested.
The water body has some unique characteristics.
The tidal waters surge from the Pakistani side and, over the years, the channel is extending further on the Indian side.
On the Pakistani side lies the Chini-Bandh (China Bund, just north of Bondho Dhoro), built with Chinese assistance to prevent the tidal waters from inundating areas on their side.
On the Indian side, there is a desolate emptiness over the entire spread of the Harami Nala, except in the rear areas at considerable distance from the IB, where factories that have come up to produce salt, bromide and other chemicals carried by mineral-rich waters.
The Harami Nala is extremely rich in fishing, especially prawns.
Moreover, the formidable marshy terrain through which it runs makes it impossible to approach or patrol on foot even during low tide.
Treacherous tides, morass and mirages are matched by scorching temperatures (above 50° Celsius) in summer.
In contrast, the Harami Nala has always been more accessible from the other side.
Pakistani fishing boats try and make their way up the many small creeks to surreptitiously enter the Harami Nala on the Indian side, drawn by the plentiful catch.
In the past, they did so with impunity.
There was the added risk of infiltration by terrorists and drugs and arms smuggling.
In the past, the entry point of the Harami Nala on the Indian side could not be approached by the BSF personnel due to a lack of infrastructure.
They had to wade through deep slush to launch small patrol boats into the channel from areas to the rear.
This situation improved after a set of all terrain vehicles (ATVs) were procured from Italy and stationed at border pillar 1175, the last such observation post at the time.
It also helped that special scaffolding was put up on the bank of the channel in the rear areas on the Indian side where troops could bivouac for watch duties and be rotated in the ATVs.
Speed boats, tethered alongside, also began to make a difference in terms of preventing ingress by Pakistani fishing boats.
A modern composite BOP 1175 was constructed in 2016 and BOP 1170 in 2022.
The construction of embankments and road infrastructure along the “vertical line” of the IB have enabled the new observation posts to come up between border pillars 1164 and 1153.
Recently in news
According to a BSF release, the Home Minister laid the foundation stone for a mooring place at Koteshwar in Kutch and also inaugurated the newly constructed Chidiyamod-Biarbet Link Road and OP Tower in the Harami Nala area.
Inaugurated a 9.5 metre tall observation post tower equipped with high resolution pan-tilt-zoom cameras, to bolster intelligence-gathering capabilities.
This will come up at BOP 1164, further up north from BOP 1170, along the “vertical line” of the International Boundary (IB).
The great advantage of the new tower, worth ₹3 crore, and others coming up at BOPs 1165, 1166 and 1169 (apart from three more in the Creek area), is that they will provide live camera feed and continuous surveillance over the open stretch of water and mudflats surrounding Harami Nala.
These initiatives, together worth ₹361.35 crore.
The Mooring Place project, with an allocated budget of ₹257 crore, will make a huge difference by allowing berthing, repairs and maintenance for bigger vessels, including the floating BOPs, thus bolstering the BSF’s capabilities in the Creek area.
COMMENTS