Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has dedicated to the nation 90 infrastructure projects of Border Roads Organisation (BRO), worth over Rs 2,900 crore, spread across 11 States/Union Territories.
The projects were inaugurated by the Defence Minister Rajnath Singh at an event in Jammu this morning. These include Nechiphu Tunnel in Arunachal Pradesh; two airfields 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 & West Bengal and one each in Nagaland, Rajasthan and Andaman & Nicobar Islands.
Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu was present at the Nechiphu tunnel site in West Kameng district connected virtually to the main event.
In his brief address, Khandu lauded the BRO for successful completion of the tunnel within a short span of time. He also expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh for their sincere efforts in improving connectivity in the border state.
“The only bottleneck to development in the state was its poor connectivity, owing majorly to the lackadaisical attitude of the previous governments at the Centre. Since Modi became the Prime Minister, Arunachal has witnessed complete transformation in its connectivity sector. Nechiphu Tunnel is one more example of the Centre’s commitment,” he said.
Underscoring the significance of the Nechiphu Tunnel, Khandu said that it will not only shorten the distance for people travelling on the Balipara-Charduar-Tawang (BCT) road but also ease the danger of driving in the fog that engulfs the area for most part of the year.
“Dense fog in the area made travelling on the curvy road most dangerous. Many fatal accidents have occurred in the area. This tunnel will now bypass the fog zone providing safe travel to all,” he added.
The 500-metre long Nechiphu Tunnel along with the nearing completion Sela Tunnel, will provide all-weather connectivity to the strategic Tawang Region. It will be beneficial to the Armed Forces deployed in the region and the tourists visiting Tawang. Rajnath Singh had laid the foundation stone of the tunnel in October 2020.
Complementing the BRO for its proactive role not only in constructing roads, bridges and tunnels but also in helping locals, both directly (employment) and indirectly (facilities like health centres, schools, etc), Khandu expressed hope that all projects under BRO in Arunachal will be completed successfully.
The BRO has completed the construction of these strategically-important projects in record time; most of them in a single working season using state-of-the-art technology.
In his address, the Raksha Mantri described the BRO as ‘bro (brother)’ of the Armed Forces, asserting that, through its infrastructure projects, BRO is not only securing India’s borders, but also playing a key role in the socio-economic development of the far-flung areas.
Singh credited the timely completion of these projects to the hard work and dedication of its personnel as well as the commitment of the government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“Together with BRO, we are ensuring that the nation is secure and border areas are developed. Timely completion of infrastructure projects in far-flung areas has now become the new normal of New India,” he said.
With today’s inauguration of 90 projects worth Rs 2,900 crore, a record 295 infrastructure projects of the BRO, at an overall cost of approx. Rs 8,000 crore, have been dedicated to the nation since 2021. In 2022, 103 projects worth approx. Rs 2,900 crore were inaugurated; while in 2021, 102 projects at a cost of over Rs 2,200 crore were dedicated to the nation.
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