Rajnath Singh launches strategically crucial path in Uttarakhand | India News

Defense Minister Rajnath Singh dedicates the nation via video conference a crucial 80km long road from …read more

NEW DELHI / PITHORAGARH: a strategically crucial 80 km road connecting the Lipulekh Pass at an altitude of 17,000 feet along the border with China in Uttarakhand with Dharchula it was opened by the defense minister Rajnath Singh on Friday.
The new path is expected to help pilgrims visiting Kailash Mansarovar in Tibet, as it is about 90 kilometers from the Lipulekh Pass.
After opening the way through videoconferencing, Singh said pilgrims going to Kailash Mansarovar will now be able to complete their journey in one week instead of up to three weeks.
The path originates from Ghatiabagarh and ends at the Lipulekh Pass, the gateway to Kailash-Mansarovar.
“With the completion of this crucial link, the old dreams and aspirations of the local population and pilgrims were fulfilled,” said the defense minister.
He also expressed confidence that local trade and economic growth in the region would receive a boost with the operationalization of the highway.
Military officials said the road will also aid in the rapid movement of troops in the strategically key region that borders China.
Singh marked a nine-vehicle caravan from Pithoragarh to Gunji to mark the opening of the road.
The caravan included four small vehicles and some loaded vehicles from the Border Highway Organization (BRO) and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police, said Hirak Project Chief Engineer Vimal Goswami.
“After the launch of the highway, the Kailash-Mansarovar Yatra of the Lipulekh Pass has become more convenient for pilgrims who can now return to India in a day after having the holy darshan,” he said.
With the inauguration of the strategically vital highway, more than 80 km of Himalayan hard terrain, between the Mangti camp near Tawaghat and Gunji in the Vyas valley, and the security posts on the Indian side of the border, have been become accessible, the official said. .
Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari had announced last year that the road will be completed in April 2020.
“While the 51 km long portions beyond Bundi were built much earlier, followed by a 23 km portion from Tawaghat to Lakhanpur, the most difficult portion between Lakhanpur and Bundi was challenging and time consuming,” he said. BRO Goswami’s officer.
Construction of the highway began in 2008 and was scheduled to be completed in 2013, but was delayed due to difficult terrain in the portion between Nazang and the town of Bundi.
“The most challenging 15km long part of the Nazang to Bundi road was outsourced in 2015 to a private company under the technical guidance of BRO engineers, who completed the part despite all odds before the date set by the minister last year, “Officer BRO said.