NEW DELHI: Prospective infiltrators and smugglers who try to cross from Bangladesh into India may soon get a stinging response and a swollen face, with the Border Security Force (BSF) launching a combined scheme of beekeeping and medicinal plant cultivation as a pilot project along the fence on the India-Bangladesh border
.Under this scheme, bee boxes will be installed along with fencing, keeping them slightly above the ground. Some flowering plants will be planted around the boxes and a natural habitat created by arranging shade over the boxes. "It is expected that these bees will act as 'bee warriors' to prevent intruders and smugglers from cutting the fence. By attacking them, they will play an important role in preventing the fence from being cut," a senior BSF officer said.
The scheme will benefit residents of border villages by creating new employment opportunities like beekeeping and cultivation of various types of medicinal plants like black tulsi, ekangi, satmuli, ashwagandha, aloe vera etc.