New Delhi, Aug 3 (PTI): Over 1.24 lakh head of cattle were seized by security agencies while they were being smuggled to Bangladesh in 2019 and 2020, Union minister Nisith Pramanik said in Lok Sabha on Tuesday.

The Union minister of state for home said 77,410 head of cattle were seized in 2019 and 46,809 head of cattle were seized in 2020.

As many as 1,163 smugglers were also apprehended by the security agencies in the last two years, he said in written reply to a question.

Pramanik said the Central government has adopted a multi-pronged approach to check illegal trade of cattle along the Indo-Bangladesh border which includes round-the-clock surveillance, patrolling and establishment of observation post.

Besides, the number of BSF personnel has been increased, border fencing and floodlighting are being constructed, water crafts and boats and floating Border Out Posts (BOP) being used for domination of riverine area, and advance technological equipments like hand-held thermal imager, night vision device, twin telescope and unmanned aerial vehicles have been deployed, he said.