Amid LAC tension, strategic Srinagar-Leh highway thrown open in record time

jj correspondent

Srinagar, March 16: Amid the ongoing tension with China along the Line of Actual Control, the strategic Srinagar-Leh national highway was thrown open on Thursday for traffic by the Border Road Organization (BRO) in a record time of 68 days, officials said.
The 434-kilometer long highway serves as an important link between the people of Ladakh and Kashmir, and thousands of soldiers stationed in Ladakh region. The highway traverses through the Himalayas at Zojila pass, located at 11500 feet,and then the Zanskar Mountain Range at Fatula to enter Ladakh.
In the past, the Zojila pass used to normally close by October or November every year and re-open only by April or May with the total closure time averaging to almost five to six months, officials said
Director General Border Roads Organisation (BRO) Lt General Rajeev Chaudhary said the strategic road was opened in a record period of 68 days. The feat, he said, was made possible by the grit, guts and comprehensive planning of BRO karmyogis of Projects Beacon and Vijayak.
“The opening of the highway will facilitate augmentation of supply of essential goods and services for soldiers and people of Ladakh ,” Chaudhary told reporters at the Zojila pass. “This highway helps to send defence equipment including guns, bullets and tanks besides troops to Ladakh. Similarly, the early road opening gives an economic push to the Ladakh region.”
Lt General Rajeev Chaudhary said the opening of this road brings a daily benefit of Rs.7 crore to the government.
“In one working season we are able to save Rs 400-450 crores by reopening the highway in a short time,” Lt Gen Chaudhary said.
After a military standoff in Ladakh sector in May 2020, that resulted in the killing of 20 Indian soldiers and five Chinese soldiers in Galwan Valley, both countries have deployed thousands of soldiers and heavy artillery along the LAC. The relations between the two countries have been at the lowest point since the Galwan clash.
A Srinagar based defence spokesman said with the renewed focus on infrastructure development and augmentation of connectivity to the Northern borders in the recent years, there has been a strategic requirement of minimising the closure of Zojila Pass during winters.
“BRO accordingly ensured that the Zojila Pass was kept open for traffic till as late as January 6, 2023 this year, thereby creating a new historic precedence of its kind. The advantage which accrued by keeping Zojila open till this late can be assessed by the fact that almost 13,500 vehicles crossed the Pass between end November 2022 and January 6,” he said
The spokesman said likewise, Razdan Pass which provides the only road connectivity between the Gurez sector in Bandipora district was also successfully reopened today after a gap of just 58 days. UNI