"India Will Beat China In 2-3 Years In Border Infra": Top Official

The chief of Border Roads Organisation (BRO), which develops and maintains road networks in India's border areas, has said that India will be ahead of China in infrastructure development along the borders. Lieutenant General Rajeev Chaudhry was speaking about ongoing projects in Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh. The comment comes nearly a week before Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurates 90 infrastructure projects built by the BRO at a cost of Rs 2,941 crore in 10 border states and Union Territories.

"Ninety projects are being dedicated to the nation on September 12. Out of that, 26 are in Ladakh and 36 are in Arunachal... so our focus is totally on these two states and we are going much ahead and much faster in these two states to in fact beat China, if I may say so, in another two to three years," Lieutenant General Chaudhry, the Director General of BRO, told news agency ANI.

The projects to be inaugurated by Mr Singh include 22 roads, 63 bridges, one tunnel in Arunachal Pradesh and two strategic airfields.

"It's a great moment for the nation that so many projects are being made on the border areas and it is strengthening the security metrics of our army so they can get deployed as far forward as possible and take care of any critical situations if they arise," the Army officer said.

The Defence Minister will also lay the foundation virtually (e-shilanyas) of an airfield in Nyoma, eastern Ladakh. It will be developed at a cost of Rs 218 crore.

Located at a height of 13,400 feet, Nyoma is about 46 kilometres from the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China.