By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: The fight against militants in Garo Hills has gone digital. Use of three dimensional maps by the security forces while carrying out operations in the forests of Garo Hills has paid dividends as far as having area dominance is concerned, an official said.
While the militants in Garo Hills have thorough knowledge of the terrain, police were finding it extremely difficult to move around in the forests while carrying out operations. However, the use of the advanced technology has instilled confidence in the minds of the security forces who are now better equipped to prevent any sudden attack including ambushes by the militants.
With the Central assistance, 3D mapping software is widely used by the security forces in Garo Hill while moving in the difficult terrains.
“We have been using the maps for the last six months and with this, we have made some progress in containing militancy, especially in the fight against GNLA”, a state home department official said.
In the 3D mapping, three dimensions of a place will be shown which can help determine the dangers ahead when the security forces carry out operations, the official said.
The terrain in Garo Hills is difficult to trek and there are valleys, waterfalls, rivers and dense forests which make it impossible for the men in uniform to proceed with accuracy without the help of the digital maps.
Once the hide out of a militant outfit is identified, the digital maps help to identify the area with longitude and latitude which makes the counter insurgency operations easy.
The SWAT members of State police and the CoBRA team of CRPF are equipped with the digital maps to ascertain the locations whenever they move in the jungle.
In the past, due to mistaken identity, a few police personnel were killed during operations against the GNLA militants in Garo Hills.Moreover, frequent unexpected ambushes by GNLA had also claimed the lives of many police personnel in the past.
With the digital maps, besides forests, small villages can also be located when the security forces have to surround them to bust the hideouts of the ultras thus making it advantage security forces.
