SAMBA: In the Samba area of Jammu and Kashmir, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday officially opened 90 Border Roads Organisation infrastructure projects that cost a total of Rs 2,941 crore to construct. Lt Governor Manoj Sinha, senior Army and Indian Air Force (IAF) commanders, as well as Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s office Dr. Jitendra Singh, met Singh at the Jammu airport. In addition to 89 other projects, Singh virtually opened the state-of-the-art 422.9 metre Devak bridge on the Bishnah-Kaulpur-Phulpur Road in the Samba district. According to a BRO spokesperson, the Devak bridge is strategically significant to the defensive forces and will speed up the entrance of troops, heavy equipment, and mechanised vehicles into forward areas. It will also promote the socioeconomic development of the area.The BRO projects span 10 border states and Union Territories in the northern and northeastern areas, and they comprise 22 roads, 63 bridges, one tunnel, two airstrips, and two helipads that were built in difficult weather circumstances and at sites with the most hostile terrain, he said. According to the official, of the 89 projects that were virtually inaugurated, 36 were in Arunachal Pradesh, 25 were in Ladakh, 11 were in Jammu and Kashmir, five were in Mizoram, three were in Himachal Pradesh, two were in Sikkim, Uttarakhand, and West Bengal, and one was in each of Nagaland, Rajasthan, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. According to the spokeswoman, the BRO completed the highly strategic projects in record speed, with some of them being built in a single working season utilising cutting-edge technology.In addition to the Sela Tunnel, which is still under construction, he claimed that the 500-meter Nechiphu Tunnel on the Balipara-Charduar-Tawang Road in Arunachal Pradesh will provide all-weather connectivity to the strategically important Tawang region. This will benefit both the armed forces stationed there and visitors to the pristine Tawang. Pema Khandu, chief minister of Arunachal Pradesh, virtually attended the occasion. According to the spokesman, Bagdogra and Barrackpore Airfields in West Bengal will benefit the Indian Air Force’s defensive and offensive architecture along the borders and will also make it easier for commercial flights to land there. The statement added that the defence minister also lay the foundation for the Rs 218 crore Nyoma airstrip in eastern Ladakh, which will be built for a variety of strategic air assets. According to him, the development of this airfield will significantly improve Ladakh’s aviation infrastructure and increase the IAF’s capability along the country’s northern borders. He said that the BRO’s spike in road and bridge building over the past three years had resulted in the completion of several crucial and important projects, enhancing defence readiness. The BRO has also established connections with the most isolated and distant communities in the nation, including Huri in Arunachal Pradesh. Reverse migration has been sparked along the border settlements by this link.The BRO has invested a record Rs 5,100 crore in 205 infrastructure projects over the past two years, setting a new record. In 2018, 103 BRO infrastructure projects costing Rs 2,897 crore were finished; in 2021, 102 BRO infrastructure projects costing Rs 2,229 crore would be dedicated to the nation. The vice chief of army staff, lt. gen. M. V. Suchindra Kumar, opened the North Tech Symposium on Monday at IIT Jammu’s Jagti campus, where the defence minister will also be present.
