Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on September 12 virtually laid the foundation stone for Nyoma airfield in Eastern Ladakh very close to the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and also inaugurated the crucial Nechiphu tunnel on the axis to Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh. In all he inaugurated 90 infrastructure projects built by Border Roads Organisation (BRO) at a cost of over ₹2,900 crore, across 11 States and Union Territories which include two revamped airfields, Bagdogra and Barrackpore, in West Bengal, two helipads, 22 roads and 63 bridges.
Of these 90 projects, 36 are in Arunachal Pradesh; 26 in Ladakh; 11 in Jammu & Kashmir; five in Mizoram; three in Himachal Pradesh; two each in Sikkim, Uttarakhand and West Bengal and one each in Nagaland, Rajasthan and Andaman & Nicobar Islands, a Defence Ministry statement said.
“The Nyoma airfield, to be developed at a cost of approx. ₹200 crore, will boost air infrastructure in Ladakh and augment the IAF’s capability along the Northern border. The Defence Minister exuded confidence that the airfield, which will be one of the world’s highest, would prove to be a game-changer for the Armed Forces,” the statement said. Once completed, in about two years, the runway will be able to accommodate all fighter jets in the IAF’s inventory.
All-weather connectivity
The 500-metre long Nechiphu tunnel, for which work started in October 2020, is an important infrastructure project on Balipara-Charduar-Tawang Road in Arunachal Pradesh. This tunnel along with the Sela Tunnel, which is under construction, will provide all-weather connectivity to the strategic Tawang Region, the statement said.
Mr. Singh noted that a record 295 BRO projects, worth ₹8,000 crore, have been inaugurated since 2021. “Timely completion of infrastructure projects in border areas is the new normal for New India,” he stated.
The Ministry said that the BRO has completed construction of these strategically-important projects in record time; most of them in a single working season employing state-of-the-art technology. “Together with BRO, we are ensuring that the nation is secure and border areas are developed,” Mr. Singh said.
Mr. Singh stressed that civil-military fusion is the need of the hour, as responsibility for the nation’s security lies not only with soldiers but also with civilians.
