Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday e-inaugurated six major bridges built by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) close to the International Border (IB) and the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir.
“The two bridges on the Tarnah Nallah in Kathua district and four bridges located on Akhnoor-Pallanwala road in Akhnoor in Jammu district have spans ranging from 30 to 300 metres and were constructed at a total cost of ₹43 crore,” the Defence Ministry said in a statement.
These bridges, constructed by Project Sampark of the BRO, would facilitate the movement of armed forces in this strategically important sector and also contribute towards the overall economic growth of remote border areas, it stated.
“It is a pleasant experience to inaugurate these bridges that ‘connect people’, at a time when the world is insisting on keeping distance, being isolated from each other [due to COVID-19]. I would like to congratulate the BRO on completing this important task with great skill,” Mr. Singh said after inaugurating the bridges through videoconference.
In the last two years, with the use of latest technologies and state of the art equipment, the BRO had done cutting of over 2,200 km, about 4,200 km of roads surfacing and completion of construction of about 5,800 metres of permanent bridges. About 1,000 km-long roads were currently under construction in Jammu region, he said.
There had been a major surge in work completion by the BRO of late, the statement said and added that the BRO had executed about 30% more works in the Financial Year (FY) 2019-20, compared to FY 2018-19.
The Ministry said the annual budget of the BRO that varied from ₹3,300 crore to ₹4600 crore in years 2008-2016 saw a substantial rise of ₹8050 crore in 2019-2020. “With the focus of the govt on improving infrastructure in border areas, the budget for 2020-2021 is likely to be ₹11,800 crore”. This would give a major boost to the ongoing projects and expedite the construction of strategic roads, bridges and tunnels along the northern borders.
