The upcoming inauguration of the Sela Tunnel in Arunachal Pradesh, exactly five years after PM Modi laid its foundation stone in February 2019, signals a monumental enhancement of Indian Army logistics prowess in the strategic Tawang sector, where Indian soldiers hold posts close to China border said Lieutenant General Harpal Singh, who oversaw critical phases of the project as the head of the Border Roads Organisation (BRO).
PM Modi is expected to inaugurate the tunnel, the worlds longest twin lane tunnel above 13,000 feet, officials aware of the development said on February 18, 2024. It will allow the fester deployment of the weapons, soldiers, and equipment to forward areas near the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the officials added.
The tunnel has been constructed at a cost of Rs 700 crores on the Balipara-Charduar-Tawang Road. It will offer a fortified, dependable and expeditious conduit for troop mobilization, equipment conveyance and vital supplies distribution,” said Singh, who was BRO Director General during 2018-2020.
The project is significant as winter connectivity to Tawang over the 14,000 feet pass. Sela, who posed a logistical challenging for the army for decades, with the movement of men, weapons and stores severely affected. The Tunnel will cut travel time to Tawang by at least one hour as well as provide all weather connectivity.
The tunnel will allow the Indian Army to mount swifter operations response to security challenges and assert a more resolute presence in the forward areas said Singh.
The conventional road route over Sela was prone to prolonged inaccessibility due to inclement weather and treacherous topography, he said. India ‘s infrastructure push along its farthest frontiers is a firm and focused response to China’s thrust on developing border areas and has supported the military pursuit of robust deterrence against the neighbours with whom the country has been locked in a dragging standoff in eastern Ladakh since May 2020.
Things are quitter along the LAC in the east, but the Indian Army’s operational preparedness is at thr highest level. Sela remains snowbound in winters, cutting off areas to the north of it from the rest of the country. The tunnel will enable the Indian military (armed forces) to move and sustain themselves better said Lieutenant General SL Narasimhan (retd), a retired military officer and member of the National Security Advisory Board (NSAB).
The Sela tunnel project consists of Tunnel-1 which is 980 meters long and Tunnel-2, a 1,555-meter twin tube tunnel. The tunnels have come up with through two ridges of west of Sela. The project also includes two roads measuring 7 km and 1.3 km. Tunnel-2 has one bi lane tube for traffic and one escape tube for enemies. Only tunnels longer than 1500 meters need to have an escape passage alongside.
The civilian population will also benefit from the new route, the experts said. “The tunnel is a beacon of transformative progress, promising myriad benefits to the local population. It brings in a new era of secure and faster transportation, mitigating perils inherent to traversing rugged terrain,” Singh said.
The Tunnel will also serve as a catalyst for socio -economic development granting people easier access to markets, health care facilities, educational institutions and other indispensable amenities, he said. Th tunnel was expected to be completed two years ago, but was delayed due to prolonged winters slowing down construction activity and technical aspects such as delay in concrete setting inside the tunnel.
At least fifty specialist engineers and hundreds of BRO workers were involved in the construction of the Sela Tunnel using latest Austrian technical tunneling techniques which involve studying the rocks and designing the tunnel support after studying rock behavior.
Last year, India setup a top committee to fast-track infrastructural projects in areas close to the China border. The projects being executed in forward areas involve several ministries like defence, road, transport, highways, environment, climate change, raliways and communications and power and new and renewable energy.
The secretaries of these ministries form a part of the committee that monitors the progress of different projects. China has an edge over India in border infrastructure, but India is catching fast with the neighbour on the back of speedy execution of strategic projects to support military operations, increased spending and focused adoption of technology and techniques.
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