Tsewang Rigzin
Nyoma, (LADAKH), Oct 30: India’s highest airfield is being constructed at Mudh in the Nyoma Sub-division of Eastern Ladakh at an altitude of 13,700 feet, located 35 kilometers from the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China. Runway is already ready for any kind of emergency landing. The airfield is about 200 kilometers from Leh city.
Mudh in Nyoma sometimes records minimum temperatures as low as -35 degrees Celsius in the winter, making this the coldest airfield in the country despite being the highest.
95 percent of the 3-kilometer-long runway is already completed. “By next year, all infrastructure to support runway activities will be completed,” stated Col. Ponung Doming, Commander of the 755 Border Roads Task Force (BRTF) for Project Himank. Col. Doming is the first female officer from Arunachal Pradesh to be promoted to the rank of Colonel in the Indian Army and is heading a strategic border post in eastern Ladakh.
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Col. Doming led the task force in Hanle at an altitude of 15,300 feet. She said their focus has been on the quality of the construction. Col. Doming also informed that the runway is already ready for emergency landings. “We don’t require an inauguration for any kind of emergency landing,” she added. The foundation stone for the airfield was laid in September last year.
The airfield is being built by KCC Build Con Pvt Limited at an estimated cost of Rs 218 crores. Officer Commanding 80 RCC of Project Himank, Executive Engineer Manoj Kumar, is overseeing the Advanced Landing Ground (ALG) construction. He informed that as many as 450 laborers were engaged in the summer for the construction of the airport, and presently around 250 laborers are working.
Once completed, all types of defence aircraft can be operated from this airfield. Construction of this airfield is likely to stand as one of the most significant projects in the border areas of Ladakh.
Untill now, KBR Airport Leh, located 200 km away from Mudh, has been the only one used for military and civil airlines, and all heavy machinery for military purposes would be brought to Leh airfield and further transported to the borders by road.
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