Khandu urges BRO for speedy completion of road projects,

Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Monday requested the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) for speedy completion of various road projects in the state.

The Centre had announced that the BRO will construct a tunnel through the 13,700 feet-high Sela Pass to enable faster movement of troops to and from the Sino-Indo border.

The proposal to build the tunnel in February 2018 came amidst concerns in the defence establishment over China's growing assertiveness along the 4000-km long border with India.

Khandu, at a meeting with BRO Director General Lt Gen Harpal Singh at the organisation's headquarters in New Delhi on Monday, discussed the road projects and the construction of Sela tunnel, an official communiqu reaching here said.

When constructed, the 10 km-long tunnel will cut down travel time by at least an hour between Army's IV Corps headquarters at Tezpur in Assam to Tawang, a strategically-located town near the border with China and known for housing the second most important Buddhist monastery.

The tunnel which is located between Tawang and West Kameng districts of Arunachal Pradesh will make National Highway 13, specially the 171 km stretch between Bomdila and Tawang, accessible throughout the year.