HON’BLE RAKSHA MANTRI SHRI RAINATH SINGH INAUGURATES & DEDICATES 75 INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS TO THE NATION

Leh,12 Oct 2024: The Hon’ble Raksha Mantri, Shri Rajnath Singh today inaugurated and dedicated 75 infrastructure Projects to the Nation at a cost of Rs 2236 Cr. During the occasion Shri Prem Singh Tamang, Chief Minister of Sikkim, Gen Upendra Dwivedi, PVSM, AVSM, ADC, COAS, Defence Secretary Shri Giridhar Aramane and many other dignitaries were also present at Sherathang.

In addition, other prominent dignitaries like Shri Om Prakash Mathur (Governor of Sikkim), Lt Gen KT Parnaik (Retd) (Governor of Arunachal Pradesh), Shri Haribhau Bagade (Governor of Rajasthan), Shri Shiv Pratap Shukla (Governor of Himachal Pradesh), Shri La Ganesan lyer (Governor of Nagaland), Dr. Hari Babu Kambhampati (Governor of Mizoram), Shri Pema Khandu, (Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh), Shri Pushkar Singh Dhami (Chief Minister of Uttarakhand), Dr. Jitendra Singh (MoS of the Ministry of Science and Technology), Mr Mohd Haneefa Jan (Member of Parliament, Ladakh), Dr Mohd Jaffar Akhoon, (Honble Chairman/CEC Kargil ,

Deputy CEC/Deputy Chairman, LAHDC Sh Kacho Mohd Feroz, (Exec Councillor), Mr Abdul Wahid, (Councillor, Drass), Brig Vinay Bahl, (Chief Engineer, Project Vijayak), Shri Shrikant Balasaheb Suse, (DC, Kargil) and Shri Vishal Atri, (SDM, Drass) were alsovirtually part of the ceremony via video conference.

During the occasion, Col. Rishab Jain,commander 16 BRTF, Maj. Kamal Kaushik OC 54 RCC, Col. Siddhartha Shrivastav CO 5Mahar (Borders) , Deputy CEC Sh. Tsering Angchuk, Sh. Toufail Igbal, Tehsildar Diskit, attended the event virtually from Nubra.

Last year, 125 infrastructure projects of the BRO were dedicated to the Nation at a cost of Rs 3611 Cr. This year, 36 Infrastructure Projects of the BRO costing Rs 1508 Cr have already been dedicated to the Nation which also include state of the art Sela Tunnel in Arunachal Pradesh which was inaugurated by Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi on 09 Mar 2024 making a total of 111 infrastructure projects at a total cost of Rs 3751 Cr.

In a ceremony organised by the Border Roads Organisation in Sikkim, the Hon’ble Raksha Mantri inaugurated 22 Roads, 51 Bridges and 02 other miscellaneous projects. These Infrastructure Projects have been constructed under challenging weather conditions at places with most inhospitable terrain.

Notably, BRO completed the construction of these critical strategic projects in record time frame and many of these Projects have been constructed in a single working season using state-of-the-art technology. Out of these projects seven projects have been completed by Project Vijayak in Ladakh.

The highlights of the event were inauguration of state of the art five class 70 R bridges and two National Highway double lane roads in Ladakh region constructed by Project Vijayak. The five class 70 R bridges which were inaugurated include Sapi I Bridge on Sankoo-Kannoore-Sapila -Mulbek road, Scrubachan Bridge on Khaltse-Batalik road, Astkappa and Drass Bridges on Drass-Umbala-Sankoo road and Hinachi Bridge on Sasoma-Warshi-Snout road. The two roads which were inaugurated were ILPCC of Z-K-L road from Km 110 to 114 (4 Kms) and Leh-Chalunka road from Km 70-85 (15Kms). These bridges and roads assume strategic as well as social-economic importance. These infrastructure provided strategic movement and logistics to our Armed forces towards the Northern Border. It also has adequate social significance by connecting villages from hinterland to main road axis which will invariably boost the social-economic development in the region, providing positive impetus on tourism and will generate more employment opportunities.Speaking on the occasion, Hon’ble Raksha Mantri, Shri Rajnath Singh lauded BRO’s commitment towards establishing connectivity in far- flung areas by ensuring timely completion of these roads & bridges. He mentioned that in last five years BRO had completed 450 infrastructure projects with a cost of more than Rs. 16000 Cr and this year, in 2024 with these 75 infra projects BRO has dedicated a record 111 infrastructure projects to the Nation. He appreciated the feat of construction of these 75 infrastructure projects at such an expeditious pace during this year. He mentioned that such performance by the BRO is unprecedented and is a reflection of the grit and determination of the entire Border Roads Organisation.

He also lauded BRO’s effort of always being at the forefront in constructing more than 40% of Roads in high altitude area with hostile terrain, harsh weather, low Oxygen levels and extreme cold. Despite these challenges BRO remains committed towards its mission of Connecting Place Connecting People.

He reaffirmed the Government’s resolve to ensure better infrastructure development in border areas keeping in view the Nation’s security needs. He expressed his confidence in BRO’s contribution to Nation building by promoting enhanced defence preparedness & ushering economic development in Border States through improve connectivity despite tremendous challenges of terrain & weather condition.

Source: BRO