Construction of tunnel through Sela Pass in Arunachal Pradesh to begin in January

The work for construction of a tunnel through Sela Pass in Arunachal Pradesh to cut down the distance to China border will start in January next year, a top Border Roads Organisation (BRO) officer said Wednesday. 

The bhoomi puja for starting the work of construction of Sela tunnel in Tawang district will be held in January next year, Director General Border Roads (DGBR) Lt Gen Harpal Singh said here. The BRO will construct the tunnel through Sela Pass, which would cut down the distance to China border through Tawang by 10 km. 

The tunnel would also cut down by at least an hour of travel time between the Army's 4 Corps headquarters at Tezpur in Assam and Tawang. Moreover, the tunnel would ensure that National Highway 13 and especially the 171-km stretch between Bomdila and Tawang, remains accessible in all weather conditions. 

For the work, tenders have been floated and administration from Tawang and West Kameng districts has ratified joint surveys, the DG informed during a meeting with Chief Minister Pema Khandu here. The BRO has sought the support of the state government for statutory clearances to which the chief minister assured all his support, a CMO release said. 

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in his 2018-19 budget had announced the government's plan to build a tunnel through Sela Pass located at an elevation of 13,700 ft which will ensure faster movement of troops in Tawang, a strategically-located district bordering China. 

Khandu requested the BRO to expedite work on improving the road from PTSO lake to Bumla pass in Tawang district and appreciated the BROs dedication in working in extremely remote area exhorting them to continue the good work and ensure timely completion of the task with the highest quality, the release said. 

The chief minister assured the DG BRO full support of the state government in expediting works on all borders roads in the state, it added. The DG also discussed on the 317-km Balipara-Charduar- Tawang (BCT) road, which is the lifeline of West Kameng and Tawang districts and informed that significant achievement has been made on improving the road to two-lane road. The meeting also discussed the status of Dirang bypass and Jung bypass included under the BCT road, the release said. The DGBR informed about the progress of works of operationally critical roads in the Area of Responsibility of Project Arunank near India-China border in Upper Subansiri district. 

The DG informed that he had inspected the roads recently while travelling by road from Tama Chung Chung (TCC) to Taksing and TCC to Bidak. Singh informed that civil vehicles are now running up to Tama Chung Chung from Nacho.

(With inputs from agencies.)