Itanagar, Sep 29: Director General Border Roads (DGBR) Lt Gen Rajeev Chaudhry on Thursday visited the under construction Sela Tunnel Project in Arunachal Pradesh’s Kameng region bordering China.
The Sela Tunnel project is being executed by Border Roads Organisation (BRO) to ensure allweather connectivity to Tawang. Connectivity to Tawang is through Balipara-Charduar-Tawang (BCT) road only and it gets affected badly due to formidable obstacle of Sela Pass which is situated at an altitude of 13,700 ft and restricts movement of the Army convoys and civil vehicles during winter season due to excessive snowfall.
BRO’s Project Vartak is executing the task which comprises construction of two tunnels, one of 1.5 Km (twin tubes) and the other of 1 km length. The tunnels are connected to the main BCT axis through approach roads.
The project will by-pass the existing narrow road leading to Sela Pass and will connect Baisakhi to Nuranang with a double-lane specification road having two tunnels. This will allow unhindered traffic movement in the winter season.  
Construction of this project will result in saving of 8 km distance and one-and-a-half hours journey through the treacherous Sela Pass will be saved.
The foundation stone of the project was laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 9, 2019 and within two years BRO has completed the excavation of both tunnels of the project.
Lining and electric & mechanical work of the tunnel are proceeding with full swing. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh took the last breakthrough blast of the tunnel on October 14 last year through an e-ceremony from India Gate, New Delhi.
The Sela tunnel, once constructed, will be the longest bi-lane tunnel in the world at an altitude above 13,000 ft which will be another jewel in India’s crown, a Defence release said.
It added, BRO under the guidance of DGBR Lt Gen Rajeev Chaudhry is setting unprecedented standards of the pace of tunnel construction in the Himalayas.
BRO has also achieved completion of excavation of the 500-mtr-long Nechiphu tunnel at breakneck speeds cutting through the foggiest stretch on the BCT road in West Arunachal Pradesh.
The DGBR stated that infrastructure development works in the region have picked up significant pace in the last two years and many new technologies are being introduced to further accelerate the work, the release added. (UNI)

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Kenter Joya Riba

(Managing Editor)
      She is a graduate in Science with post graduation in Sociology from University of Pune. She has been in the media industry for nearly a decade. Before turning to print business, she has been associated with radio and television.
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