Arunachal: To counter aggressive China, infrastructure development at full swing in areas bordering LAC

The Sela tunnel and the Nechipu tunnel -- are under construction as vehicular movement becomes difficult due to heavy snowfall during winter.

In pic: BRO officials inspecting a road

For countering Chinese aggression on the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the Union government is carrying out infrastructure development in the border areas of Arunachal Pradesh.

The chief engineer of ‘Project Vartak’, Brig Raman Kumar told ANI that the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) is developing and maintaining all road networks in the key border areas of western Assam and western Arunachal Pradesh.

“We have national highways, single-lane roads, double-lane roads and other types of roads as well. We want to connect even the far-flung areas of the Tawang district and contribute to the socio-economic development of this area,” he said.

He further informed that two tunnels — the Sela tunnel and the Nechiphu tunnel — are under construction as vehicular movement becomes difficult due to heavy snowfall during winter.

“The Sela tunnel is under construction and is 400 meters below Sela pass. Once the tunnel is completed, people will be able to pass through it even in winter. We are also working on the Nechipu tunnel, near the Nechipu pass. Once they are completed, both military as well as civilian vehicular movement would be a lot more smooth. It will boost not just infrastructure in the area but tourism as well,” he further said.

Apart from road connectivity and other infrastructure development works, the government is working to strengthen mobile connectivity in Tawang and other bordering areas of Arunachal Pradesh.

More mobile towers have been installed in Tawang and other border areas of the Tawang district, along the LAC. On internet connectivity, a resident said, “The mobile and internet connectivity has improved but still it is not up to the mark. There are a lot of disturbances.”

“If we compare from before, the connectivity has improved a lot. Earlier, we were not able to use the internet but now we can even use Facebook and WhatsApp. The government has worked very well in these areas,” another resident said.

On December 13, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh informed the Rajya Sabha that China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) troops tried to transgress the Line of Actual Control in the Yangtse area of Tawang Sector in Arunachal Pradesh and unilaterally change the status quo but they were forced to retreat to their positions due to the timely intervention of Indian troops.

The Defence Minister assured the Upper House that “our forces are committed to protecting our territorial integrity and will continue to thwart any attempt made to alter the status quo”. (ANI)

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