New Delhi: As India and China held talks at Moldo on the Chinese side of Chushul to resume discussions on disengagement, the home ministry reviewed the progress of road construction in border areas.
Sanjeeva Kumar, Secretary (Border Management) reviewed infrastructure along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the de-facto border dividing India and China, for the second time in five days, underscoring the government’s determination to proceed with the plan after the Ladakh face-off.
India’s stress on developing the Ladakh region by building roads through the Galwan valley into Shyok is believed to be the main trigger for Chinese aggression in the area.
On June 15, after weeks of tension at various points along the LAC, a deadly brawl erupted between Indian and Chinese soldiers at Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh, in which 20 Indian soldiers laid down their lives. Army sources say 45 Chinese soldiers were killed or injured.
Most experts watching the India-China situation have said the government building roads and airfields to improve transport links and narrow the gap with China’s superior infrastructure on its side of the LAC is a big reason for the current escalation. India recently completed a road from Darbuk to Daulat Beg Oldie, a feeder road to improve its defence along the Galwan heights.
“Phase 2”, which entails almost 32 strategic roads in the region, was to be completed by 2019. “There have been issues relating clearances so in the meeting focus was to ease these bottlenecks,” said the official.
Two strategic roads need to be completed in Ladakh, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Uttrakhand.
