Modi to carry out ‘first blast’ for Shinku La tunnel in Ladakh today
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Friday carry out the “first blast” for the Shinku La tunnel in Ladakh, which is aimed at providing all-weather connectivity from Manali to Leh via the Nimmu-Padam-Darcha axis, officials aware of the matter said.
The “first blast” is significant as it marks the beginning of the tunnel’s construction. Modi will do this remotely from the Kargil war memorial in Dras, where he will pay tribute to Indian soldiers on the 25th anniversary of the war with Pakistan.
The tunnel at 15,800 ft, expected to be ready in four years, will be the world’s highest, surpassing China’s Mila tunnel at 15,590 ft. The construction of the tunnel will boost military mobility and logistics support for deployed forces in the Ladakh sector as the Nimmu-Padam-Darcha road will provide the third connectivity option to Ladakh. Connectivity between Nimmu and Darcha was achieved in March 2024 and the road is being blacktopped, as reported by HT.
The development comes at a time when the military standoff between India and China in eastern Ladakh has entered its fifth year, with no indication of a resolution to the outstanding problems along the contested Line of Actual Control (LAC) although India is hoping ongoing negotiations will help restore the status quo ante of April 2020.
The 4.1 km-long Shinku La tunnel will cut the distance between Manali and Leh by 60 km, bringing it down from 355 to 295 km. It will be an alternative to the Manali-Leh and the traditional Srinagar-Leh route. The Nimmu-Padam-Darcha road is strategically important as it is shorter than the other two axes, and crosses only one pass – the 16,615-ft high Shinku La.
Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has completed 330 projects for ₹8,737 crore in the last three years, and significantly improved the strategic mobility of the Indian armed forces along the border with China. It is also on the verge of completing an ambitious project to provide much-needed alternative connectivity to Daulat Beg Oldi (DBO), India’s northernmost military base near LAC.
The construction of the 130-km road from Sasoma in the Nubra Valley to DBO near the Karakoram Pass is in its final phase. The existing 255-km Darbuk-Shyok-Daulat Beg Oldi (DS-DBO) road runs close to LAC. Sasoma and Darbuk can be reached from Leh via two different road axes.
India’s border infrastructure push has been propelled by speedy execution of strategic projects to support military operations, increased spending, and focussed adoption of technology and techniques. BRO, which is at the centre of the push, has been given a capital outlay of ₹6,500 crore in the defence budget for 2024-25. This is 30% higher than the allocation for FY 2023-24 and 160% higher than what it was in FY 2021-22.