India's defense minister, Rajnath Singh, laid the foundation stone for an airfield in eastern Ladakh, saying it would be a "game-changer" for the armed forces amid the ongoing border dispute with China. The airfield, being built at a cost of ₹219 crore, will be one of the highest in the world for fighter jets. Singh also inaugurated 90 infrastructure projects along the Line of Actual Control with China, worth ₹2,941 crore. The projects include tunnels, airfields, helipads, roads, and bridges in various states and Union Territories.
Amid protracted border dispute between India and China, defence minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday laid foundation stone of an airfield in eastern Ladakh. He said that it would be a “game-changer for the armed forces.”
Defence minister Rajnath Singh inaugurates Devak Bridge, constructed by Border Roads Organisation in Jammu on Tuesday. (PTI)
“Today, the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) will start work on Nyoma airfield in eastern Ladakh. The airfield will be developed as a staging ground for troops deployed on forward posts in Ladakh,” the defence minister said. Officials said that the facility will be ready within a year.
“The airfield, at a height of 13,700 feet, will be one of the highest airfields in the world for fighter jets. I think it would be a game changer for our armed forces,” he said. The air-field is being built at a cost of ₹219 crore.
In his address, Rajnath described BRO as “bro (brother)” of the armed forces and civilians, asserting that it is securing India’s borders and improving the socio-economic condition of people through its projects.
Singh credited the timely completion of these projects to the hard work and dedication of BRO personnel and the commitment of the Union government.
“Together with BRO, we are ensuring that the nation is secure and border areas are developed. Timely completion of infrastructure projects in far-flung areas has now become the new normal of new India,” he said.
On the occasion, Singh inaugurated 90 infrastructure projects of the BRO spread across 11 states and Union Territories. The 90 projects along the Line of Actual Control with China are worth ₹2,941 crore.
These include Nechiphu Tunnel in Arunachal Pradesh, two airfields in West Bengal, two helipads, 22 roads and 63 bridges.
Of these, 36 are in Arunachal Pradesh, 26 in Ladakh, 11 in Jammu and Kashmir, five in Mizoram, three in Himachal Pradesh, two each in Sikkim, Uttarakhand and West Bengal and one each in Nagaland, Rajasthan and Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
The defence minister also inaugurated strategically significant bridge over Devak river, nearly 3.5 km from Indo-Pak international border in Ramgarh sector of Samba.
The 423 meters long RCC bridge has been constructed at a cost of ₹20 crore.
India and China have been locked in a border standoff in eastern Ladakh for three years. Ties between the two neighbours nosedived after a clash in Galwan Valley in June 2020 that claimed the lives of 20 Indian soldiers.