Rajnath Singh Dedicates 90 Infra Projects In Jammu
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh launched 90 Border Roads Organisation infrastructure projects in Jammu and Kashmir's Samba area on Tuesday, totaling Rs 2,941 crore. Singh was greeted at the Jammu airport by Lt Governor Manoj Sinha and senior Army and Indian Air Force (IAF) commanders. He was accompanied by Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office Jitendra Singh.
Singh virtually inaugurated the 422.9-metre-long Devak bridge on the Bishnah-Kaulpur-Phulpur Road in Samba district, as well as 89 other projects.
The Devak bridge is strategically important to the defence forces since it will allow for the rapid induction of troops, heavy equipment, and mechanised vehicles to advanced areas, as well as boosting the region's socio-economic development, according to a BRO spokesperson.
The BRO projects include 22 roads, 63 bridges, one tunnel, two airstrips, and two helipads built across 10 border states and Union Territories in the northern and northeastern regions amid difficult weather conditions and in the most inhospitable terrain, he said.
According to the official, 36 of the 89 virtual projects are in Arunachal Pradesh, 25 in Ladakh, 11 in Jammu and Kashmir, five in Mizoram, three in Himachal Pradesh, two each in Sikkim, Uttarakhand, and West Bengal, and one each in Nagaland, Rajasthan, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
The BRO completed the essential strategic projects in record speed, with several of them built in a single working season employing cutting-edge technology, according to a spokeswoman.
He stated that the 500-metre Nechiphu Tunnel on the Balipara-Charduar-Tawang Road in Arunachal Pradesh, along with the under-construction Sela Tunnel, will provide all-weather connectivity to the strategic Tawang region, benefiting both the armed forces stationed there and tourists visiting the pristine Tawang.
Pema Khandu, Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh, attended the ceremony virtually.
The reconstructed and rebuilt Bagdogra and Barrackpore Airfields in West Bengal would not only boost the Indian Air Force's defensive and offensive architecture near the borders, but will also facilitate commercial flight operations in the region, according to the spokesperson.
According to the statement, the defence minister also laid the e-foundation of Nyoma airstrip in eastern Ladakh, which will be created at a cost of Rs 218 crore for wide-ranging strategic air assets.
According to him, the construction of this airfield will significantly improve Ladakh's aviation infrastructure and increase the IAF's capability along the country's northern borders.
He stated that the BRO's increase in road and bridge construction over the previous three years has resulted in the completion of several essential and key projects, bolstering defence preparedness.
The BRO has also connected the country's most distant settlements, like as Huri in Arunachal Pradesh, to the mainland. Because of this connectedness, reverse migration has occurred along the border communities.
In the last two years, the BRO has dedicated a total of 205 infrastructure projects worth Rs 5,100 crore to the nation.
103 BRO infrastructure projects were finished last year at a cost of Rs 2,897 crore, while 102 BRO infrastructure projects would be dedicated to the nation in 2021 at a cost of Rs 2,229 crore.
The defence minister will also visit the North Tech Symposium, which is now taking place at IIT Jammu's Jagti campus and was launched on Monday by Vice Chief of Army Staff Lt Gen M V Suchindra Kumar.
