Army, BRO discuss 'all-weather connectivity' to cut-off areas in JK, Ladakh

Top Army and BRO officials conducted a brainstorming session at a two-day conference on developing all-weather connectivity the to cut-off, far-flung and remote areas in the union territories of J&K and Ladakh, officials said on Thursday.

The Northern Command annual road conference was held on November 13and 14 at the headquarters of Northern Command at Udhampur, a defence spokesman said.

The event was chaired by Lt Gen Ranbir Singh, GOC-in-C, Northern Command.

The Conference was aimed at taking stock of ongoing road connectivity projects in J&K and Ladakh union territories and identifying bottlenecks so as arrive at way forward to provide better road infrastructure, the spokesperson said.

The development of connectivity infrastructure by army authorities not only meets operational requirements but also local aspirations, therefore contributing to socioeconomic development of the local populace, he said.

The improved roads directly contribute towards employment generation, marketing of produce and tourism, spokesman said.

The first day of the event was attended by senior military officers of the Northern Command and Chief Engineers of BRO projects. On the second day of the conference, issues requiring synergy with civil administration were discussed.

Issues related to land compensation, forest clearance, road alignments and joint surveys were discussed and mechanism worked out for early clearances and payments, the spokesperson said.

The Army Commander emphasized on quality control, longterm planning, induction of technology, best practices and optimum utilization of budget to ensure that the infrastructure development is fast-tracked and helps the local population.