NEW DELHI: 44 permanent bridges were formally inaugurated on Monday providing connectivity to advanced areas on the western, northern and northeast fronts, including as defense minister. Rajnath singh He warned against a collusive agenda between China and Pakistan to create trouble on India’s borders.
“You are well aware of the conditions created on our northern and eastern borders. First was Pakistan, and now also China… it seems that border disputes are being created as part of a mission, ”Singh said when inaugurating the bridges.
“We have a border of about 7,000 km with these countries, where tension prevails on a daily basis,” added Singh, dedicating the bridges built by the Border Roads Organization (BRO) at a cost of Rs 286 crore. It also virtually laid the foundation stone for the proposed 450-meter-long Nechiphu Tunnel on the road to Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh.
The bridges, with spans ranging from 30 to 484 m in seven states and UT, have been completed at a time when India is embroiled in a military confrontation with China in Eastern ladakh since the beginning of May. Control line with Pakistan it also remains extremely volatile, with around 3,300 ceasefire violations already recorded this year, breaking all annual records since 2003, as TOI previously reported.
Eight of the 44 bridges are located in Ladakh, including a crucial one over the Shyok River on the strategic Darbuk-Shyok-Daulat Beg Oldie (DBO) highway. The 70 ton class bridge can support the weight of tanks and provides Indian troops with easier access to crucial ones Depsang Y Galwan Valley areas. The other bridges are in J&K (10), Himachal Pradesh (2), Punjab (4), Uttarakhand (8), Sikkim (4) and Arunachal Pradesh (8). Noting that the dedication of 44 bridges in one go was a record, the defense minister said the Modi government was ushering in historic changes in all sectors of infrastructure development despite the challenge posed by Covid-19. and the border tensions caused by Pakistan and China.
“These bridges have improved connectivity in the remote areas of the western, north and northeast sectors and have fulfilled the aspirations of the local population. They will also comply with the transport and logistics requirements of the Armed Forces throughout the year ”, he added.
BRO’s annual budget, which ranged from Rs 3,300 crore to Rs 4,600 crore from 2008 to 2016, has increased substantially to more than Rs 11,000 crore in 2020-21, it said.
BRO Chief Lieutenant General Harpal Singh, in turn, said that special emphasis has been placed on the construction of bridges, in which 28 large ones were completed last year. Fifty-four of the 102 main bridges planned for this year have also been completed, it added.
On video: border dispute created as if under a mission: Rajnath Singh
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