NEW DELHI: The “first blast” to launch the construction of the strategically-crucial Shinkun La tunnel for alternate all-weather connectivity and swifter troop mobility to Ladakh will be conducted “virtually” by PM Narendra Modi on Friday.
The project to construct the 4.1 km long twin-tube tunnel at an altitude of 15,800-feet, under the forbidding Shinkun Pass (La means pass) on the Nimmu-Padam-Darcha road by the Border Roads Organization (BRO) at a cost of Rs 1,681 crore, was approved by the PM-led cabinet committee on security in February last year.
Construction of tunnels along the northern borders with China remains a top priority despite harsh weather and terrain conditions, amid the continuing military confrontation in eastern Ladakh, which is into its fifth year now.
The Sela tunnel, built at an altitude of over 13,000-feet on the Balipara-Chariduar-Tawang road in Arunachal Pradesh for Rs 825 crore, for instance, was inaugurated in March. Tunnels, of course, can also be used for underground storage of ammunition, missiles, fuel and other supplies. “Several more tunnels are under-construction or in the planning stage,” an officer said.
The Shinkun La tunnel, which will have cross-passages every 500 metres, will take at least two years to be completed. “It will then be the highest such tunnel in the world, bypassing the Mi La tunnel in China at 15,590-feet. It will not only ensure swift and efficient movement of troops and heavy weapon systems but also foster economic and social development in Ladakh,” he added.
Modi, accompanied by defence minister Rajnath Singh and the military brass, will conduct the ground-breaking ceremony for the tunnel virtually during his visit to the Kargil war memorial at Drass on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the conflict with Pakistan. During the Kargil conflict, 527 Indian soldiers laid down their lives and 1,363 were injured while evicting well-entrenched Pakistani intruders from the heights against all odds.
The construction of the Shinkun La tunnel comes after the BRO in March established “connectivity” on the 298-km Nimmu-Padam-Darcha road in Ladakh, which will be the third axis to the strategically important region.
“The Nimmu-Padam-Darcha road derives its strategic importance from the fact that it’s not only shorter vis-a-vis the other two routes (Manali-Atal tunnel-Sarchu-Leh and Srinagar-Zojila-Kargil-Leh), but also crosses only one pass, the Shinkun La at 16,700-feet,” another officer said.
“The Shinkun Pass remains snow-bound for around five months every year thus cutting off this route. The tunnel under it will ensure all-weather connectivity,” he added.
India has to some extent reduced the huge “infrastructure differential” with China along the 3,488-km Line of Actual Control, stretching from eastern Ladakh to Arunachal Pradesh, in terms of roads, tunnels, bridges, troop habitats, permanent defences, helipads and airfields over the last four years.
But a lot still remains to be done, with China setting a frenetic pace in building border infrastructure and dual-use `Xiaokang’ villages, strengthening military positions and deploying additional aircraft at its air-bases facing India, as reported by TOI earlier.
The project to construct the 4.1 km long twin-tube tunnel at an altitude of 15,800-feet, under the forbidding Shinkun Pass (La means pass) on the Nimmu-Padam-Darcha road by the Border Roads Organization (BRO) at a cost of Rs 1,681 crore, was approved by the PM-led cabinet committee on security in February last year.
Construction of tunnels along the northern borders with China remains a top priority despite harsh weather and terrain conditions, amid the continuing military confrontation in eastern Ladakh, which is into its fifth year now.
The Sela tunnel, built at an altitude of over 13,000-feet on the Balipara-Chariduar-Tawang road in Arunachal Pradesh for Rs 825 crore, for instance, was inaugurated in March. Tunnels, of course, can also be used for underground storage of ammunition, missiles, fuel and other supplies. “Several more tunnels are under-construction or in the planning stage,” an officer said.
The Shinkun La tunnel, which will have cross-passages every 500 metres, will take at least two years to be completed. “It will then be the highest such tunnel in the world, bypassing the Mi La tunnel in China at 15,590-feet. It will not only ensure swift and efficient movement of troops and heavy weapon systems but also foster economic and social development in Ladakh,” he added.
Modi, accompanied by defence minister Rajnath Singh and the military brass, will conduct the ground-breaking ceremony for the tunnel virtually during his visit to the Kargil war memorial at Drass on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the conflict with Pakistan. During the Kargil conflict, 527 Indian soldiers laid down their lives and 1,363 were injured while evicting well-entrenched Pakistani intruders from the heights against all odds.
The construction of the Shinkun La tunnel comes after the BRO in March established “connectivity” on the 298-km Nimmu-Padam-Darcha road in Ladakh, which will be the third axis to the strategically important region.
“The Nimmu-Padam-Darcha road derives its strategic importance from the fact that it’s not only shorter vis-a-vis the other two routes (Manali-Atal tunnel-Sarchu-Leh and Srinagar-Zojila-Kargil-Leh), but also crosses only one pass, the Shinkun La at 16,700-feet,” another officer said.
“The Shinkun Pass remains snow-bound for around five months every year thus cutting off this route. The tunnel under it will ensure all-weather connectivity,” he added.
India has to some extent reduced the huge “infrastructure differential” with China along the 3,488-km Line of Actual Control, stretching from eastern Ladakh to Arunachal Pradesh, in terms of roads, tunnels, bridges, troop habitats, permanent defences, helipads and airfields over the last four years.
But a lot still remains to be done, with China setting a frenetic pace in building border infrastructure and dual-use `Xiaokang’ villages, strengthening military positions and deploying additional aircraft at its air-bases facing India, as reported by TOI earlier.
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