NEW DELHI: What would you not give for hot fritters and tea as you drive through the cold, dizzy heights in the border regions in Kashmir or Arunachal? How disappointing when it’s just empty miles you see before you! Not any longer.
BRO Cafes will shortly open on different sections of border roads with the Border Roads Organisation (BRO). The Ministry of Defence has given the green signal for these wayside amenities at 75 locations in 12 states and Union Territories.
The MoD in a statement said: “These are intended to provide basic amenities and comfort to the tourists and lead to boosting of economic activities in border areas, besides generating employment for the local people. These wayside amenities will be branded as ‘BRO Cafes’.”
Since the inaccessibility and remoteness of these roads preclude widespread commercial deployments, the BRO, by virtue of its presence, took it upon itself to open such facilities at remote places, the MoD explained.
The amenities will come up in public private partnership mode with agencies, on license basis, which will design, build and operate the facilities as per BRO guidelines. The facilities include parking for two and four wheelers, food plaza/restaurants, restrooms for men, women and the differently abled, first-aid rooms, MI rooms, etc. Selection of licencees will be done through a competitive process.
The terms of the agreement will be for 15 years which may be further extended for a period up to five years. Nineteen BRO Cafes will come up in Arunachal Pradesh, two in Assam, seven in Himachal Pradesh, 12 in Jammu and Kashmir, 14 in Ladakh, five in Rajasthan, 11 in Uttarakhand. West Bengal, Sikkim, Punjab, Nagaland, Manipur are the other states where the wayside amenities will get established.
The Border Roads Organisation has its reach in the remotest border areas and besides addressing strategic needs, it is instrumental in socio-economic upliftment of the Northern and Eastern border regions. This has resulted in increased tourist influx in these hitherto inaccessible scenic locations.