Government stressed that road construction along the LAC region will continue (File)
New Delhi:
While India and China held talks in Moldo on the Chinese side of Chushul to resume discussions on the disengagement, the Interior Ministry reviewed progress in road construction in border areas.
Sanjeeva Kumar, Secretary (Border Management) examined infrastructure along the Real Line of Control (LAC), the de facto border between India and China, for the second time in five days, highlighting the government’s determination to continue the plan after Ladakh face to face.
India’s focus on developing the Ladakh region by building roads across the Galwan Valley to Shyok is believed to be the main trigger for Chinese aggression in the region.
On June 15, after weeks of tension at various points along the LAC, a deadly fight broke out between Indian and Chinese soldiers in the Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh, in which 20 Indian soldiers gave their life. Army sources say 45 Chinese soldiers have been killed or injured.
Most experts observing the situation between India and China have said that the government is building roads and airfields to improve transportation links and narrow the gap with China’s superior infrastructure on its side of the LAC. a big reason for the current escalation. India recently completed a road from Darbuk to Daulat Beg Oldie, a service road to improve its defense along the heights of Galwan.
“The aim was to speed up the projects underway because we are behind in phase two,” a senior official told GalacticGaming.
“Phase 2”, which includes nearly 32 strategic routes in the region, was to be completed by 2019. “There were problems with approvals, so at the meeting the goal was to reduce these bottlenecks strangulation, “said the official.
Two strategic routes are to be completed in Ladakh, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Uttrakhand.
The meeting of the Interior Ministry brought together officials from the organization of border roads, the Indo-Tibetan border police (ITBP) and the Central Department of Public Works (CPWD).
The Interior Ministry also reviewed the progress of purchases of modern construction equipment. The center sped up the process between 2017 and 2020 and also started using Chinooks to transport construction materials by air.
“India has completed the construction of 4,764 km of strategic roads in the past six years due to the policy of the center. And this consistency along the border has changed the dynamics,” a source told GalacticGaming.
According to data from the Interior Ministry, road construction has doubled, from 230 km per year between 2008 and 2017 to 470 km per year since.
Road surfaces have also doubled; nearly 380 km of roads are covered each year, according to sources. In 2008-2014, only one tunnel was completed, but in the past six years, six more are operational and 19 more are planned.
Connectivity has intensified with the construction of bridges. In the past six years, India has successfully built 14,450 meters of bridges connecting remote regions along the Indo-Chinese border.
A massive budget has been allocated to these projects. The allocation for the development of the border was increased to Rs 11,800 crore against Rs 8,050 crore last year.
The government stresses that road construction along the LAC region will continue and that India will not be intimidated to stop.
