India set to ramp up infrastructure along China border

New Delhi | Leh: India is all set to ramp up its infrastructure along the border with China and complete work on as many as 42 strategic Indo-China Border Roads (ICBRs) before 2022, officials have said. The Centre had identified 73 “strategic roads” along the China border, 28 of which were made operational, 33 are still under construction while the work on remaining are in the initial stages, they added. BJP councillor from Tangtse constituency in eastern Ladakh, Tashi Namgyal, said that the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has engaged a large number of porters and labourers from several border villages for construction of roads in Durbok, Shayok and Daulat Beg Oldie areas along the LAC.According to official sources, while most road projects are pending in Arunachal Pradesh and Uttarkhand, construction has begun in full swing in Ladakh. “Some of these projects were to be completed by 2018 but were delayed mainly due to strategic security consideration, environment clearances, limited working season, difficulties in availability of construction materials, delay in land acquisition and natural calamities,” said a senior official. India and China share a 3,488-km-long border running along Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Uttarkhand, Himachal Pradesh and Ladakh.“Of these 73 roads, 61 roads of 3,410 km length were entrusted to BRO while the remaining was to be completed by CPWD and ITBP. The development of these roads would enhance accessibility to border areas where the border infrastructure and forward connectivity are lacking,” another official said. Besides roads, the strategic infrastructure includes mobile towers, strategic railway lines and border outposts (BOPs).The BJP councillor added the Chinese incursions and buildup in Galwan Valley, Pangong Tso and now in DBO have forced BRO to take rapid measures to construct or realign crucial roads leading to these strategic areas along the LAC and store essentials and weaponry.“From every family, the BRO has hired at least two porters including women, for these emergency development projects. This should have happened much earlier,” said Namgyal, who had visited Durbok area early this week. The BRO has engaged around 300 locals, including women, in road construction from Durbok to Shayok in the past two weeks. The road, which passes through a mountain, is now being realigned to a lesser height.

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