All you need to know about crucial border road inaugurated by India

The construction of this strategic road stretch began in 2008, and it was scheduled to complete in 2013 but got delayed due to the tough terrain.

The Border Roads Organisation, which develops and maintains road network in India’s border areas, completed a key road in Uttarakhand which will cut travel time drastically.

The road was inaugurated by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. (Twitter/@rajnathsingh)

The road was inaugurated by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh through video conferencing. He also flagged off a caravan of nine vehicles from Pithoragarh to Gunji to indicate that both passengers and load can be sent by the new road stretch through mountainous terrain.

Here are the key things to know about the crucial road:

• The road has been built from Ghatibagar in Dharchula to Lipulekh near the border with China. It is also known as Kailash-Mansarovar Yatra Route. The road is 75 kilometre long.

• The road ends at the 17,000 feet high Lipulekh pass. From there, Mount Kailash is located around 97 km north of the pass in Tibet. The Lipulekh pass, close to the tri-junction of India-China-Nepal, is the lowest point in this section of the high Himalayas.

• The tough Himalayan terrain beginning from Mangti camp near Tawaghat to Gunji in Vyans valley, and Indian security posts situated near Indo-China border, are now accessible by a concrete road.

• Union road transport minister Nitin Gadkari had announced last year that this road stretch would be completed by April 2020.

• The construction of this strategic road stretch began in 2008, and it was scheduled to complete in 2013 but got delayed due to the tough terrain between Nazang to Bundi village. The project was approved at a cost of ₹80.76 crore. In 2018, the Cabinet Committe on Security (CCS) approved a revised cost of ₹439.40 crore.

• Locals say it used to take them five days to reach their high altitude villages from Dharchula and vice versa. Now it will take just four hours to reach there. It will also help winter and summer migration of tribal people to upper Himalayan region.