Shri Ram Shaw
NEW DELHI
In an attempt to strengthen its grip on occupied Jammu and Kashmir, India has constructed six major bridges in sensitive border areas close to the Working Boundary (WB) and Line of Control (LoC) in “in a record time”.
The two bridges on the Tarnah Nallah in Kathua district and four bridges located on Akhnoor-Pallanwala road in Akhnoor/Jammu district have spans ranging from 30 to 300 metres and were constructed at a total cost of INR 43 crores. These bridges will facilitate movement of Indian armed forces in this strategically important sector.
“Continued construction of roads and bridges in the border areas of the country would help in reaching to the remotest areas,” defence minister Rajnath Singh said, adding that roads in the border areas are not only strategic strengths of the country, but also act to connect remote areas with the mainstream. “In this way, be it a strategic necessity of the armed forces or other development work related to health, education, trade, all these are possible only with connectivity,” the minister said.
“Our government is committed to promoting infrastructure on our borders and necessary resources will be provided for this. Our government has a keen interest in the development of J&K. Keeping in mind the need of the people of the region and Armed Forces, many other developmental works are also in the pipeline, which will be announced in due time. About 1,000 kilometre long roads are currently under construction in Jammu region,” the defence minister added.
