NEW DELHI: On a landmark day for the Union Territory of Ladakh and its people, construction on 05 major road infrastructure development projects was launched by the Governor of Ladakh Radha Krishna Mathur.
Upgradation of 4 major single lane roads has also commenced. These roads are, 78 Km road Khalse to Batallik, 50 Km road Kargil to Dumgil which will also include construction of a tunnel at Hambotingla to ensure seamless connectivity from Kargil to Batallik,70 km road Khalsar to Shyokvia Agham and 31 Km Tangtse to Lukung. All these roads are used extensively by travellers to reach sought after tourist destinations such as Hundar (Nubra Valley), Turtuk village, Shyok, Pangon-Tso lake and Aryan villages of Dah, Garkone Darchik etc.
The ground-breaking ceremony was held by the Chief Executive Councillor, Leh Mr TashiGyalson, MP Ladakh Jamyang Tsering Namgyal, Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar and Director General Border Roads Lt Gen Rajeev Chaudhry besides overwhelming villagers from nearby areas.
Following the MoU, signed on 03 Sep 2021, between the Ladakh Administration and the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), projects involving construction/improvement of roads and tunnels were assigned to BRO for development of connectivity in the hilly region. The 05 projects kicked off today included preparation of greenfield alignment and upgradation of major single lane roads to double-lane (NHDL specification) and tunnelling works.
Construction of road Hanuthang-Handanbroke-Zungpal-Turtuk, the 26.6 Km long greenfield road is planned to provide inter valley connectivity between Hanuthang-Handanbroke (Indus Valley) and Zungpal-Turtuk (Shyok Valley) across the Stakpuchan Range. This will also reduce the travel time to Three and Half Hours from existing Nine Hours to Turtuk via Leh without crossing the treacherous Khardungla pass.