Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will inaugurate 75 projects completed at the cost of Rs 2236 crore including 19 in Jammu and Kashmir and 11 in Ladakh virtually from Gangtok in Sikkim on October 12. All projects have been completed by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO).
Officials told the Excelsior that Rajnath Singh will be visiting Sikkim to celebrate Dussehra festival on October 12 with the Army soldiers deployed along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China and inaugurate 75 projects of the BRO in different States and Union Territories, 74 of them, virtually.
Among the projects to be inaugurated by the Defence Minister, the highest number of 19 are in Jammu and Kashmir followed by 18 in Arunachal Pradesh and 11 in Ladakh. Rest of the projects fall in other States and Union Territories.
The Defence Ministry has been focussing on infrastructure development along the borders with China and Pakistan to ensure smooth movement of the troops right up to the borders. In this direction, a number of projects have been completed and more have been taken up for construction. Work on many projects including in the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh is on.
“The Defence Minister will also address the Army Commanders Conference at Gangtok on October 11,” the officials said.
The projects in the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh to be inaugurated by Rajnath Singh are roads and bridges among others. In the past also, he has inaugurated and laid foundation stone of several projects. The projects will boost military mobility and logistics support for the troops deployed in forward areas in Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Sikkim among others.
With inauguration of 75 projects, the total projects completed by the BRO this year to boost infrastructure development on the LAC will go up to 111 at the cost of Rs 3751 crore.
“The BRO has completed these projects which are of strategic importance in record time with many projects completed in single working season despite hostile weather conditions in some of the areas,” the officials said.
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). Last year, 125 BRO projects worth Rs 3,611 crore were dedicated to the nation, boosting India’s defence preparedness against its adversaries on the northern and western fronts.
BRO, which is at the centre of the India’s border infrastructure push, has completed 450 infrastructure projects worth Rs 16,000 crore in the last five years.
Increased connectivity in forward areas not only has a direct bearing on military mobility and logistics support, but also the movement of civilians in border states.
India is keeping a close track of border infrastructure development by China. The neighbour’s infrastructure push has been confirmed by satellite images, and encompasses the construction of new airbases, missile sites, roads, bridges, reinforced bunkers, underground facilities to protect military assets from aerial strikes, accommodation for soldiers and ammunition depots.
