Hasty mine-laying costing Army dearly

new delhi: with almost 40 persons killed in landmine blasts since the mobilisation of troops began a month ago, questions are now being raised if the army is following proper procedures and taking precautions while laying deadly anti-tank and anti-personnel mines along the border. ''in a hurry to shore up defences, soldiers seem to be ignoring procedures.mine-laying operations are mainly carried out during the night to evade enemy detection and this makes it all the more dangerous if proper norms are not followed,'' said a retired senior officer. ''the officers in charge of the mine-laying operations need to exercise proper supervision to ensure that landmines are not mishandled,'' he added. the latest tragedy in the chain of incidents took place on january 5 when at least 18 persons, including 15 soldiers, were killed while transporting landmines on the attari-chabbal border road near amritsar. reports indicate the mishap took place due to improper handling of the mines while they were being unloaded. the army, on its part, says the courts of inquiry ordered into each of the incidents will establish the real reasons behind the mishaps. orders, however, have been reissued to ensure all precautions are taken and such accidents are not repeated. ''mine-laying is a risky operation and accidents do take place. in 1992-93, for instance, a lt-general, who was to take over as the next director general of military intelligence, was among those killed in srinagar when some landmines accidentally exploded,'' said an officer. this is the first time after the 1971 indo-pakistan war that mine-laying is being done in the western sector on such a large scale. while every fighting unit is trained and responsible for laying mines around its own defences, the corps of engineers handles larger mine-laying operations. the main aim is to deter or delay the advance of enemy armour and troops if an assault takes place. ''moreover, by careful laying of mine-fields, one can ensure that enemy troops are channelised into the killing ground,'' said an officer. anti-personnel mines — which can be blast, fragmentation, directional or bounding mines — are usually laid to keep enemy mine-clearing teams away from the more easy to find larger anti- tank mines. the army uses anti-personnel mines like the m-14 and m-16, with the former being quite tough to detect since it has a low metal content.