in recent years, the Indian government has accelerated the development of infrastructure along the LAC in an attempt to match the Chinese build-up on the other side Image Courtesy AFP
New Delhi: For several decades after independence in 1947, India has been hobbled by a defensive approach to national security. This negative and defeatist mindset was especially pronounced when it came to dealing with China.
After the war in 1962, in which a poorly armed and ill-equipped Indian Army was let down by the political and military leadership, the Indian government tried to avert another Chinese invasion by leaving the road network in regions bordering the Line of Actual Control (LAC) undeveloped.
However, in recent years, the Indian government has accelerated the development of infrastructure along the LAC in an attempt to match the Chinese build-up on the other side.
Let us have a look at some of these projects.
Projects in Arunachal Pradesh
Sela tunnel
The Sela tunnel is under construction and will run below the Sela pass. Once the tunnel is completed, people will be able to pass through it even in winter.
Travel from Tezpur in Assam to the LAC in Tawang sector will become easier and faster after the completion of this tunnel.
Nechipu tunnel
The Nechipu tunnel is being developed near the Nechipu pass. Once it is completed, both military as well as civilian vehicular movement will be a lot smoother. It will boost not just infrastructure in the area but tourism as well.
Arunachal Frontier Highway
The Arunachal Frontier Highway (AFH), which is officially known as the National Highway NH-913, will connect the Bomdila Airstrip in western Arunachal Pradesh to Vijaynagar Airstrip in the eastern part of the state.
Also known as the McMahon Highway, this road will run along the LAC in Arunachal Pradesh, which is also known as the McMahon Line. With a length of around 1,800 km this highway will run as close as 20 km from the LAC in some places.
It is a reply to China’s strategic highway linking Pad township in Nyingchi city with Baibung in Medog County that lies north of Arunachal Pradesh and was completed last year.
Six corridors will connect this highway with two other parallel highways in the state — Trans-Arunachal Highway and the Arunachal East-West Corridor.
More mobile towers
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.
Projects outside Arunachal Pradesh
– By 2026, Ladakh is scheduled to have alternate connectivity to western Ladakh and the Zanskar Valley directly from the Manali axis through a 298-km NHDL (national highway double lane) specification road.
– On the crucial Darbuk-Shyok-Daulat Beg Oldi (DS-DBO) road in Ladakh, which provides connectivity to the crucialadvance landing ground and post near the LAC, 35 bridges are being upgraded.
– The Indian government has identified 73 roads in several states along the LAC as strategic Indo-China Border roads (ICBRs) that are being upgraded. These roads, which have a total length 3812 km, are in Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand and Sikkim.
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