The excavation of the Sela Tunnel in Arunachal Pradesh has been completed amid India-China tensions on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh. This tunnel connecting Guwahati with Tawang is strategically important because it will make it easier for the Indian Army to reach the LAC in all-weather and deliver necessary equipment. While China already has good roads till LAC, now India is also working to improve infrastructure on the border rapidly.
Senior defense officials told News18.com that this new route will not only boost border connectivity but will strengthen the overall military logistics setup. The planned western axis, which will be about 180 km long, will pass through Kalaktang and connect Shergaon to Rupa and further to Tawang. Tawang District shares a border with Tibet Autonomous Region to the north and Bhutan to the south-west.
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According to reports, former Union Minister Arun Jaitley had announced this project in the 2019 budget. In the year 2019, PM Modi had laid the foundation stone of Sela Tunnel Project to facilitate all-weather road connectivity to Tawang via Balipara-Chardwar-Tawang Road. On 14 October 2021, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh has pressed the button to open the main tube through an explosion. At present the excavation of the tunnel has been completed.
The tunnel being built at a height of 1.5 km long and 13,700 feet has reached its last stage. This project is expected to be completed by 2022. It will be an alternate route to the existing Balipara-Charduar-Tawang (BCT) axis and will run parallel to it. The proposed route will bypass the Sela Pass and pass through low altitude and sparsely populated areas.
At present the other axis connecting Guwahati to Tawang is Orang-Calcutang-Shergaon-Rupa-Tawang apart from the BCT axis. The planned western axis is part of the massive infrastructural development currently underway in the region. In view of the standoff with China in eastern Ladakh, India has significantly improved its infrastructure including roads, bridges and housing along the LAC.
Speaking to reporters about the overall military preparedness in the region, Major General Zubin A Minawala, General-Officer-Commanding, 5 Mountain Division, stressed that there was tremendous emphasis on infrastructure development by both the Border Roads Organization (BRO) and Is.
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