Third Access To Ladakh: Securing India’s Crown

NEW DELHI: One reason why India could proportionately and timely respond to China’s aggressive expansionism in eastern Ladakh is the improved border infrastructure it has built over the past couple of years. Two roads—the ones that connect Leh with Manali and Srinagar—are already in place. Now, the Border Roads Organisation is stepping up work on another road that will link Ladakh will Darcha in Himachal Pradesh. The terrain, which includes the Zanskar Valley, is rocky and steep and the working season is limited to barely three-four months, yet the men and the machines at work labour on, explains StratNews Global Editor-in-Chief Nitin A. Gokhale. The road—nearly 300 kilometres long—is expected to be ready in the next couple of years.