Better late than never, goes the saying. But delay causes damage and hence wisdom is to avoid delay if we can. For years at end, defence experts in and outside the Government have been stressing upon improving, upgrading, extending and streamlining road and rail connectivity to border areas especially to borders of Eastern and Northern India meeting withy those of China at LAC. The fact of the matter is that India should have diverted its full attention to the sensitive question of defending our borders with China by making these invulnerable to Chinese intrusion. Even after the debacle of 1962 when China just walked over our troops in the then eastern front, we did not take serious and urgent steps which would give us the guarantee that China would not make second attempt. All that we did was white washing and nothing really serious prepare defence strategy of Indo-China borer of LAC either in the eastern sector or in Ladakh in J&K State.
Many a time our civilian and defence intelligence agencies brought to the notice of the Defence Ministry and the Government of India that China was busy in improving her border security infrastructure with rapid pace. Their reports said that this could be potential threat to our defence capability. As such, their advice was that India should move fast to set up matching security infrastructure. We do not know what exactly kept the previous Governments out of sync with the needs and requirements of border security against recurrent incursions by China. Was it the lack of resources or was it their wishful thinking that China would abstain from its hostile attitude towards India and that we could live in peace and, therefore, there was hardly any need of incurring enormous expenditures on road and rail connectivity with our border touching on those of China. Though previous Governments repeatedly assured the nation that there was no question of complacence in border security upgrading but the fact of the matter is that never was any concrete and meaningful step taken in this connection.
Modi Government deserves three cheers for changing the outdated border policy and inducting realism in it in the context of China’s aggressive posturing again and again. On Jun 2, Chinese troops violated the Border Defence Cooperation Agreement (BDCA). The provisions of the Agreement set forth that the sides will not indulge in tailing each other’s troops that would be on petrol duty in their respective sides. There was no reason for Chinese troops to violate the agreement and Indian Commander brought it to his notice. But the very recurrence of such incidents is a threat to our security. Bilateral talks and exchanges even if apparently with serious intentions should not obliterate our security concerns. Chinese are past masters in wearing a different mask and they will never give any facial impression that would give a peep into their real intentions.
Taking the situation in earnest, the defence minister announced on the floor of the house that the Government of India had finally cleared the project of linking Bilaspur with Leh through Mandi, Kullu and Lahaul Spiti by rail link which will cross the highest mountain point of the Himalayas at a height of 17582 feet in the rail history of the world. The actual project is that the Government of India had identified 73 strategic border roads for immediate construction to boost military supplies right up to the LAC and match its infrastructure with China, which has roads right up to the areas bordering India. Out of these, 17 roads have been completed. The Bilaspur – Leh railway project is estimated to cost Rs 22,831 crores if completed within scheduled deadline of 5 years. An amount of Rs. 1000 crore have been earmarked for the construction of the strategic railway line for the financial year 2014-15.
This railway project has high strategic significance for our border defence and overall security of the country. In the first place, the projected railway will ensure regular and round the year supply of army’s requirements food, arms and ammunition for defence purposes. At present Leh and Kargil areas remain cut off from the rest of the country for six months in a year owing to heavy snowfall and road block at Zoji La on Srinagar-Leh Highway. Secondly, rail link with Line of Actual Control in Ladakh will immensely boost the morale of our troops guarding the treacherous Siachin Glacier post which remains detached for more than six months in a year. Thirdly, the rail link will also have impact on the border security between India and Pakistan somewhere close to Dault Begh Oldi.
At the same time, a major benefit of the rail link will be its immense positive impact on the life of the people living in the mountainous regions through which the rail will pass. It will drastically change the economy and life pattern of the people and that means bringing economic prosperity to the otherwise backward and neglected mountainous region. It has to be noted that the survey of rail link between Srinagar and Ladakh via Zoji La has not yielded satisfactory results. Although two tunnels are underway at Z Morh and Zoji La on Srinagar-Ladakh Highway, yet these may not be serviceable for railways for technical reasons. This has compelled the Railways Ministry to abandon or at least shelve for the time being the project of Srinagar-Leh rail link and in stead take up the Bilaspur -Leh link which is supposed to come to completion by the end of 2019.
A clear and decisive policy will find a new relationship of more dependable friendship with China, once they comes to know that India is militarily equally poised in Ladakh and the eastern region. It has already been announced that the Defence Ministry is raising three more Corps of which two will be deployed in the Eastern sector and the third one in Ladakh. Once that project comes into existence, the railway connectivity will give old and new forces tremendous support in performing their duty efficiently.
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