Rajnath Singh to dedicate 43 bridges in seven states and UTs on Thursday

As many as 43 bridges built in border areas of Ladakh, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir will be dedicated to the nation by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday, officials said.

Most of the 43 bridges, including seven in Ladakh, are in strategically important areas and they will help the armed forces in ensuring quick movement of troops and weapons, they said.

"The defence minister will inaugurate the bridges in seven states and union territories at an online event on Wednesday," said an official.

The inauguration of the bridges built by the Border Roads Organisation comes at a time when India is engaged in a bitter row with China in eastern Ladakh.

Out of the bridges, 10 are in Jammu and Kashmir, two in Himachal Pradesh, eight each in Uttarakhand and Arunachal Pradesh and four each in Sikkim and Punjab.

The officials said Singh will also lay the foundation stone of the Nechiphu tunnel on a key road to Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh.

Amid the border row with China, India is expediting work on several key projects including on a strategic road linking Darcha in Himachal Pradesh with Ladakh that will criss-cross a number of high-altitude snow-bound passes.

The nearly 290-km-long road will be crucial for the movement of troops and heavy weaponry into the frontier bases of the Ladakh region and will provide a crucial link to the Kargil region.