NEW DELHI: Inaugurating 28 important infrastructure projects worth Rs 724 crore of Border Roads Organisation on Tuesday, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh emphasised that the aim is to build a strong and self-reliant ‘New India’ to effectively deal with future challenges that may arise due to the constantly-evolving global scenario. The event was organised at Siyom Bridge on Along-Yinkiong Road in Arunachal Pradesh.
“The world is witnessing a number of conflicts today. India has always been against war. It is our policy. Recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi drew the world’s attention to that resolve when he said ‘this is not the era of war’. We do not believe in war, but if it is forced upon us, we will fight. We are ensuring that the nation is protected from all threats. Our Armed Forces are ready and it is heartening to see that the BRO is walking shoulder-to-shoulder with them,” he said.
The projects comprise 22 bridges, including Siyom bridge; three roads and three other projects in seven border States/Union Territories of Northern and North-Eastern regions. The strategically-important Siyom Bridge is a state-of-the-art 100-meter long, Steel Arch Superstructure Siyom Bridge over Siyom River in Arunachal Pradesh with capacity to bear the load up to Class 70 tons.
Eight of these projects are in Ladakh; five in Arunachal Pradesh; four in Jammu & Kashmir; three each in Sikkim, Punjab and Uttarakhand and two in Rajasthan. In addition, three telemedicine nodes two in Ladakh and one in Mizoram were inaugurated.
Tensions prevail along the Line of Actual Control with China, in the areas of Ladakh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh. Both sides are rapidly raising their infrastructure with matching forces deployed on both sides. Rajnath described the projects as a testament to the concerted efforts of the Government and the BRO.