NEW DELHI : Amid the ongoing standoff in Eastern Ladakh with China, the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) on Tuesday successfully cut through a strategically important alternate road link to Leh district of Ladakh. The passage will become the shortest route among the three roads and strengthen defence preparedness.
The BRO said while the nation celebrated Holi on Monday “the intrepid personnel of BRO were tirelessly cutting through vertical rock faces connecting the final stretch of Niraq gorge in subzero temperature.” On the planned Nimmu-Padam-Darcha Road, the BRO initiated work from both ends of the planned road.
“The March 25 marked the culmination of many years of hard work and dedication by BRO personnel in one of the most challenging terrains of the world”, it said. Lt Gen Raghu Srinivasan, DG Border Roads said, “ In January when the Zanskar was frozen, we used this to our advantage and moved equipment and personnel along the river to establish additional attack points.”
“We have established connectivity on this vital axis. Soon we will start work on black topping the road. With construction of Shinkun La tunnel commencing, the third all weather axis to Ladakh will be established,” he said.
The Nimmu-Padam-Darcha road derives its strategic importance from the fact that it is not only shorter vis-a-vis the other two axes, but crosses only one pass; Shinkun La (16,558 feet) on which tunnel work is about to commence by BRO.
“This will result in the Road having all-weather connectivity to the strategically important Ladakh region. The provision of connectivity along this strategic third axis to Ladakh will give a quantum boost to our defence preparedness along the Northern Borders.”
The Nimmu-Padam-Darcha road is now the third axis apart from Manali-Leh and Srinagar-Leh which connects Ladakh to the hinterland. The Nimmu-Padam-Darcha road has a length of 298 Kms and connects Manali to Leh through Darcha (NH-03) and Nimmu on Kargil-Leh Highway.