Burma road link to be inaugurated b

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JASWANT TO INAUGURATE LINK ROAD TO BURMA ON NOV. 17

By Our Correspondent

New Delhi, Nov. 9, From Asian Age newspaper dated Nov. 10, 2000

Indian foreign minister Jaswant will inaugurate the 160.525-km long
Tamu-Kalemyo-Kalewa road connecting northern Burma border to India on
November 17.

This was announced at a press conference addressed by Lt Gen.A.K. Puri,
AVSM, director general, HQ, of DGBR on Thursday.

According to defence sources, this was a part of India?s efforts to
crush the bases of the militant groups of the North-east operating from
the Burmese soil.

The terrain has been abridged by a 140-feet bridge, 70 feet of which
comes under India and the rest under Burma. The alignment takes off from
Tamu and terminates at Kalewa on the banks of the famous Chindwin river.

Meanwhile, Lt Gen. Puri said the Border Roads Organisation is
constructing new roads and alignments in the Kargil sector of Jammu and
Kashmir in view of the ?threat perceptions? following the Pakistani
intrusions last year.

Roads in the sensitive border area were being widened and new road
alignments were being constructed to enable the Army to take more men
and supplies to its posts in the higher mountainous reaches, said Lt
Gen. Puri.

He said the construction work was being undertaken after an assessment
of the requirements following the Kargil conflict and additional
budgetary allowance has been earmarked for the purpose.

Similarly, the Board Road Organisation was engaged in the construction
of about 20 roads of various lengths in the North-east, particularly in
the border areas in Arunachal Pradesh ?which we have been neglecting,?
the BRO chief said.

?The effort is to connect most of the border areas. The BRO was engaged
in building about 700 km of road and fencing of 1500 km along the
Indo-Bangladesh border,? he said.

The Border Roads Organisation has now graduated to other high-tech areas
like constructing air fields with the agency already having made
airfields in Kargil, Goa and Sibpur.

The BRO director general said his men constructed an airfield in the
Kargil sector for use of the Air Force while Operation Vijay was on last
year. They also maintained the communication links there.
Besides, the organisation is now also involved in major building works
and is providing civil engineering support to various hydroelectric
projects and tunnels, Gen. Puri said.