Atal Tunnel not enough; India needs aggressive Infra push to counter China

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated 9.2-km Atal Tunnel on Saturday, October 3. The tunnel that is located at Rohtang in Himachal Pradesh connects Manali to Lahaul-Spiti valley and will be available to the commuters throughout the year.

The tunnel significantly reduces the road distance between Manali and Leh in Ladakh by 46 km and travelling time by four to five hours.

There is a huge strategic importance to the route. Together with the Nimmu-Padum-Darcha road, which is also expected to be completed in the near future, the Atal Tunnel will facilitate faster mobilisation of soldiers and supplies to our borders. Military sources said that as they head towards forward posts, it would save an entire day for soldiers and supplies.

India's Border infrastructure: Lacklustre past

The Indian government has always been ignorant of the developing border infrastructure. The idea was that the developed infrastructure can be used by Chinese forces to attack India. But since the start of the century, this thinking changed.

In 2006, 73 roads along the disputed border with China were proposed by the government to be built or repaired. Most of these were to be constructed by the Border Roads Organization (BRO), 61 roads, totalling 3,417 kilometers. The deadline was 2012, and yet the mission was only 43 per cent completed as of 2011. According to a report Standing Committee on Defence, 12 roads in this group were to be completed, amounting to less than 200 kilometers of worst.

The activities have picked up pace in the recent past with India doubling the budget for vital roads and bridges along the disputed border with China. Moreover, the completion of Leh-Darbuk-Shyok-Daulat Beg Oldie strategic road in Ladakh by BRO has also made China insecure.

Border Infrastructure on the Chinese side

China is well-poised when it comes to border infrastructure along the LAC. As per the sources in the Ministry of Defence some areas where Indian troops take 2 days on feet to reach, the PLA soldiers take hours, thanks to their aggressive infrastructure development in the last 3-4 decades. Although the Atal tunnel is a positive development India would want much more developed infrastructure along the LAC especially in the forward locations.