Pushing further the capability development along the border with China, an alternative connectivity passage to western Ladakh and the Zanskar Valley directly from Manali is under construction for faster mobility of men and machines towards forward locations. It is expected to be complete by 2026.

The 298 km long road is of national highway double lane (NHDL) specification and includes a 4.1 km twin-tube Shinkun La tunnel, which is on the axis of Manali to Leh via Darcha-Padun-Nimmu, for providing all weather connectivity, top sources in defence establishment stated. The project is expecting a Defence Ministry approval soon, believe defence officials.

Simultaneously, upgrade of Shyok-Daulat Beg Oldie (DS-DBO) road linking Leh to Karakoram pass, to ‘CI 70’ specifications and construction of 35 bridges have also been planned, said an official of defence establishment.

Of these, extra wide bridges up to 150 km are nearing completion and the remaining stretch would be done by next summer since winters make it difficult to carry out work. The connectivity is strategic since the DBO plateau lies between Shyok — the last village in that region — and Karakoram, which bifurcates Ladakh from China’s Xinjiang province. The DBO exists at a height of over 16,000 feet and houses advanced landing ground for dropping of supplies and movement of troops.

Scaling up border connectivity

Parallel scaling up of border connectivity is happening at the other end of the country in Arunachal Pradesh. The government issued gazette notification on Monday to roll out work on 2,000-km long Arunachal Frontier highway, which is also known as Mago-Thingbu-Vijaynagar border highway, that follows the McMahon Line — which is the effective boundary between China and India.

The highway, to be built at the cost of₹40,000 crore, will go through Arunachal Pradesh, starting from Tawang, going along East Kameng, Upper Subansiri, West Siang, Siang, Dibang Valley, Desali, Chaglagam, Kibithoo, Hawai and ending up in Vijaynagar, which is on the Indian side of Myanmar, said sources .

To connect Frontier highway with the Trans-Arunachal highway and East-west Industrial Corridor highway, six vertical and diagonal national highway corridors covering 2,178 km have been sanctioned for providing faster access to border areas which will not only benefit armed forces but provide also economic and tourism boost, said sources.

Agencies including Military Engineering Service (MES), Border Roads Organisation (BRO), Central Public Works Development (CPWD) have come together to complete the different stretches that pass through difficult terrains.

The BRO is presently constructing nine tunnels, including the 2.53-km long Sela tunnel, which will offer all-weather connectivity between Guwahati in Assam to Tawang in AP. This will be highest bi-lane tunnel in the world once its completed. Eleven more ones are in the pipeline, said the defence sources. It has also undertaken number of infrastructure projects in neighbouring countries such as Afghanistan, Myanmar and Bhutan, besides completing more than 60,000 km of roads, 593 major permanent bridges, four tunnels and nineteen airfields in different parts of the country.

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