New gates soon at Attari-Wagah border

Amritsar: India and Pakistan are set to install new gates at the Attari-Wagah border, where people from both sides throng every evening to watch the lowering of the national flags.

The daily Beating Retreat drill involves the Border Security Force (BSF) and the Pakistan Rangers clanging shut the gates for the night at the joint check post about 30 km from here, amid a synchronised display of aggression.

The new gates, which are likely to be put up by the end of the month, will let the audience get a better view of the daily spectacle.

BSF Deputy Inspector General R S Kataria today said the decision to install new gates was taken during the last Director General-level meeting in Delhi by the two border-guarding forces.

A BSF official said the design of the new gates will allow people to look across them to the other side even when they are closed.

The gates on both sides will be almost identical, barring the emblems the two nations choose to put on them. New matching pillars will also come up.

On the Indian side, a new U-shaped viewing gallery is also likely to be inaugurated soon. Built at a cost of Rs 33 crore, the gallery can seat up to 25,000 visitors.