Lagatar24 Desk
Itanagar, Sep 12: The strategically positioned Nechiphu tunnel connecting Tawang with Assam’s Balipara was among 36 road and bridge projects in Arunachal Pradesh that Defence Minister Rajnath Singh virtually inaugurated on Tuesday.
A total of 90 important border infrastructure projects were officially dedicated to the nation by the Defence Minister virtually from Jammu.
The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has 90 projects worth Rs 2,941 crore along the Line of Actual Control with China.
Singh essentially inaugurated 22 roadways, 63 bridges, the Nechiphu tunnel, two airfields and two helipads across the country, BRO officials stated.
From Sessa in the West Kameng district, Chief Minister Pema Khandu and the Director General of Police Anand Mohan observed the event.
Nechiphu tunnel, a distinctive D-shaped single-tube double-lane tunnel that will provide all-weather connectivity to the strategic Tawang region and be advantageous for both the armed forces and tourists, is located at a height of 5,700 feet on the Balipara-Charduar-Tawang road in the West Kameng district.
The tunnel will avoid the Nechiphu Pass, where heavy fog frequently impedes military convoys and regular traffic.
”An architectural masterpiece, the strategically located tunnel will facilitate the swift movement of troops as well as citizens. Cutting a short distance by about 5 km, the tunnel will provide ease of travel and connectivity in the stretch that has dense fog,” Khandu said on X, formerly Twitter.
A momentous occasion as Hon Defence Minister Shri @rajnathsingh Ji will be inaugurating Nechiphu tunnel on Balipara-Charduar-Tawang (BCT) Road in West Kameng district on Sept 12, 2023.
An architectural masterpiece, the strategically located tunnel will facilitate swift movement… pic.twitter.com/wUSyX6ck6b
— Pema Khandu པདྨ་མཁའ་འགྲོ་། (@PemaKhanduBJP) September 11, 2023
At a cost of Rs 678 crore, the BRO just finished building eight roads in Arunachal Pradesh that run along the LAC.
11 of the total projects Singh dedicated to the nation are in Jammu and Kashmir, 26 are in Ladakh, 36 are in Arunachal Pradesh, five are in Mizoram, three are in Himachal Pradesh, two each are in Sikkim, Uttarakhand and West Bengal, and one is in each of Nagaland, Rajasthan and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
In Arunachal Pradesh, eight road projects and 20 bridges were inaugurated.
