NEW DELHI: Alarm bells must be ringing in China as Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurates the 9.15 kilometre Dhola-Sadiya bridge in Assam today. The bridge that connects a remote part of Assam to the rest of the state also makes Arunachal Pradesh more accessible to the Indian Army.
The border with China in Arunachal Pradesh is a weak spot of India due to inaccessibility and lack of any infrastructure such as roads. So much so that the Chinese troops have infiltrated deep into the Indian territory several times. In 2013, the Chinese troops infiltrated 20 km deep and reached around Chaglagam in Anjaw district.
Since China doesn’t recognise Arunachal Pradesh as Indian territory, it remains vulnerable to the Chinese infiltration.
The Dhola-Sadiya bridge will give the army a shorter and smoother access to the border areas in Arunachal. So far, a very poor and circuitous road network was the only connection of Arunachal Pradesh with India.
At present, the army enters Arunachal Pradesh via Tezpur in Assam. It takes about two days from Tezpur to reach the border in areas in Arunachal Pradesh. But the new bridge will give a quicker access to the army. It can even withstand movement of battle tanks.
To reduce vulnerability of the border areas, the government is building infrastructure in Arunachal Pradesh, including a 1,500-km proposed highway along the border.
India is trying to boost its response capabilities on its China border for quite some time.
In August 2013, the air force had successfully landed a C-130 J Super Hercules medium-left transport aircraft at the Daulat Beg Oldi advanced landing ground, close to the area where Indian Army had a stand-off with the Chinese troops a few months ago.
Last year, the air force landed a C-17 Globemaster transport aircraft at the Mechuka in Arunachal Pradesh just 29 km from the border with China to demonstrate its capabilities.
Source:-Economic Times
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