SRINAGAR, March 16: The strategic 434 km long Srinagar-Leh highway was inaugurated by the Border Roads Organization (BRO) in a record time of 68 days, officials said on Thursday.
Speaking to reporters after officially opening the road to traffic, Border Roads Organization (BRO) Director General Lieutenant General Rajeev Chaudhary said it is always a very difficult challenge to open the Zojila Pass. “It was thanks to the hard work of the BRO officials and men that we were able to open the pass in a record number of 68 days. For the last three years, we have been breaking our own records,” he said, adding that first the road was paved in 110 days, then in 78 days, and now in just 68 days.
“Our efforts will be completed in just 60 days (two months),” he said. “BRO officers and men are fully acclimated and familiar with the area. No equipment was damaged during the road opening process.”
He said that the locals who work with the BRO are receiving adequate wages, housing and food, as well as warm clothing. “Some people have been with us for 25 years. We are like a family,” said DG BRO.
He said that the early opening of this road helps to save RS 7 Crore per day for the government. “This road helps to send defense equipment, including guns, bullets and tanks, as well as troops to Ladakh. Similarly, the early opening of the highway helps give an economic boost to the Ladakh region, which remains cut off from the rest of the world for six months,” the director-general said, adding that “the people of Ladakh can come to Srinagar through this road and carry off their economic activities. (NO)