BRO set to complete 2 roads near China border
NEW DELHI: The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) is set to complete the construction of two key roads in Arunachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand to boost connectivity to forward areas near the China border even as it prepares to begin work on the Shinku La tunnel (the world’s highest) to provide all-weather connectivity from Manali to Leh via the Nimmu-Padam-Darcha axis, officials aware of the matter said on Tuesday.
The developments come at a time when the military standoff between India and China in eastern Ladakh has entered its fifth year, with no indication of a resolution to the outstanding problems along the contested Line of Actual Control (LAC) although
India is hoping ongoing negotiations will help restore the status quo ante of April 2020.
The Banga-Janga-Gompa–LJG Road in Arunachal Pradesh will be ready to support military movement by the year-end while connectivity between Munsiyari and Milam in Uttarakhand will be achieved by July 2024, the officials said.
The two roads, expected to be fully blacktopped in a year, are among the 61 strategic roads assigned to BRO near the Chinese border in Ladakh, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh.
Most of these roads have been completed, HT has learnt.
Since its inception, BRO has constructed 62,214 km of roads, 1,005 bridges, seven tunnels and 21 airfields along India’s borders as well as in friendly countries, including Bhutan, Myanmar, Afghanistan and Tajikistan, and contributed to the nation’s strategic objectives, the ministry statement said.
In 2023-24, BRO completed 125 infrastructure projects worth ₹3,611 crore, including the Sela tunnel in Arunachal Pradesh.
In March, Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated the Sela tunnel project to the country, with the infrastructure upgrade putting in the fast lane military mobility and logistics support for deployed forces in the strategic Tawang sector, where Indian soldiers hold posts close to the contested border with China.