Tawang gets alternative road axis

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will inaugurate two vital infrastructure projects along the frontier with China on Sunday.

Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh now has additional road connectivity while northern most areas of eastern Ladakh have reliable all-weather connectivity thanks to the Shyok Tunnel built at an altitude of more than 12,000 feet.

A key strategic work to be inaugurated is the 920 metre Shyok Tunnel on the strategic 255 km Darbuk-Shyok-Daulat Baig Oldie (DS-DBO) road in Eastern Ladakh. This ensures uninterrupted movement through landslide and avalanche-prone areas. The road connects to sensitive Depsang, Murgo and Karokaram pass. It runs close to the Shyok river and is prone to mudslides and snow avalanches. The tunnel will circumvent the avalanche prone stretch.

Meanwhile Tawang, located just 40 km from the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China, so far had lone single road access that is feared to be vulnerable at locations north of the Sela ridge. However, the town can now be approached from a freshly created axis. The Defence Minister will dedicate the Sela -Chabrela-BJ Gompa road that provides alternate approach.

The Sela–Chabrela–BJ Gompa (BJG) road is being built as a high-altitude alignment branching off near Sela and provides an additional axis toward Tawang.

In the areas forward, or north of Tawang connectivity has been established till Shungester, located just a few km from the LAC.

For the Army, these works shorten distances to specific forward company and battalion locations, reduce dependence on a single existing road, and allow movement of tanks and heavy logistics.

Among the 125 projects, to be dedicated to the nation by the Defence Minister, a significant portion of the projects are in the north-eastern states.

The projects include 28 roads, 93 bridges and four other strategic infrastructure projects spread across the Union Territories of Ladakh and Jammu & Kashmir and the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, West Bengal and Mizoram.

These projects mark a major milestone in strengthening border infrastructure, significantly enhancing operational preparedness, troop mobility and socio-economic development in some of the country’s most remote and challenging regions.

In May, on the occasion of 66th BRO Raising Day, the minister had virtually inaugurated 50 infrastructure projects.