SHIMLA: In a bid to strengthen infrastructure along Indo-China border in Kinnaur district, the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) is going to dig a 3.5km long tunnel to cut short the distance between Khab and Sumdo while the state public works department is constructing two roads to ensure the motorable approach to last posts of Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP).
These two vital roads would provide easy access to border posts located beyond Chitkul and Kunnu in Kinnaur.
Last year a high-level meeting was held between the public works department officials and ITBP during which modalities of providing road access till the two border posts along Indo-China border were discussed. The Union government has agreed to provide fund of Rs 25 crore to connect Dumti border post with Chitkul, for Moorrang-Kunnu road ITBP agreed to provide Rs 28 crore, sources said.
Superintending engineer of PWD, Rampur Circle, A K Chauhan said that total length of Chitkul-Dumti road was 20.6 km, of which seven km road had already been constructed. "We have received Rs 11 crore from the Centre and expect to complete kucha road connectivity by 2016 while tarring work would be completed in 2017," he added.
Chauhan said that another important road project towards China border undertaken by their department was Moorang-Thangi-Charang-Kunnu road having total length of 20 km. Earlier, a road was constructed under PMGSY but construction of bridges was yet to be done. He said that by December bus connectivity would be ensured on this road while tarring work would take around two years. "Already Rs 13 crore has been spent on this road," he added.
Construction of roads to border areas holds significance in Kinnaur as at present road network along border area is not reliable due to remoteness and climatic extremities. The main road connecting the border area of Kinnaur and Spiti passes along the banks of Satluj and Spiti rivers and is prone to damages due to avalanches, landslides and flash floods during rainy season or during winters when area receives heavy snowfall.
To ensure easy access to the border bypassing the Khab pass to reach Sumdo, BRO has proposed around 3.5 km-long tunnel that would start from area near Khab, where Satluj enters India from China. Tunnel would have its exit point near Chango and would save the motorists from passing through slide prone Maling nullah.