In what will be a brilliant piece of engineering and a bold move, the Indian government has given in-principal approval to construct a strategic tunnel below the Brahmaputra river, the Hindustan Times reported .
This bridge when finished will be all-weather connectivity between Assam and Arunachal Pradesh,
This four-lane underwater tunnel will connect Gohpur and Numaligarh towns in Assam which is situated near the China border and enable rapid movement of military transport and supplies.
The underground bridge will be designed in such way to allow all transport vehicles to cruise at a speed of 80 Km/h.
The bridge will be 14.85 km long and it will all be underwater. Construction is expected to begin by December of this year and the contract has been given to National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHAIDCL) along with Louis Berger who will be the private player.
The underwater tunnel will be built in three phases and the Indian Army had suggested the construction of a tunnel to be similar to the Channel tunnel between Britan and France.
Being underwater, the bridge will have a natural cover from being targeted by enemy forces.
In the last six years, the Modi government has made a lot of investment in developing the long-ignored infrastructure in our eastern border shared with China. This development comes amid the ongoing tensions between India and China.
Rapid troop deployment is the key to safeguard our borders and roads and bridges built in strategic locations can be the difference between victory and defeat.
The recent clash in the Galwan Valley has necessitated the need for infrastructure to ease troop movement.