Sela Tunnel nearing completion, ensures better connectivity to Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh

The Sela tunnel project, a bi-lane road tunnel at an elevation of more than 13,000 feet, is nearing completion. Colonel Parikshit Mehra, the project director informed that the Sela tunnel in Arunachal Pradesh will enable all-weather access to Tawang and improve troop and weaponry movement along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China. The tunnel's construction is planned to be completed by June 2022. 

He noted, "The Sela tunnel being constructed at an altitude of 13,500 feet on a strategically key road in Arunachal Pradesh will provide all-weather connectivity to Tawang and ensure better movement of troops and weaponry to various forward locations along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China."

He added, "It is being excavated below 4,200 meters of Sela Pass and promises to provide all-weather connectivity to Tawang. Rs 700 crore tunnel on the Balipara-Charduar-Tawang (BCT) road will be the longest bi-lane road tunnel in the world at an altitude above 13,000 feet. An escape tunnel with an equal length of 1.55 km is being constructed parallel to the main tunnel in case of any emergency."

India-China border relations

Following a violent confrontation in the Pangong lake area on May 5, last year, a border standoff developed, with both sides significantly boosting their deployment by bringing in tens of thousands of soldiers as well as heavy equipment. Following a series of military and diplomatic meetings, both sides concluded the disengagement process in the Gogra area in August and the north and south banks of Pangong Lake in February. PTI reported that each side has 50,000 to 60,000 troops along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the sensitive zone.

Amid India-China's border ongoing border tension, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla stated on Thursday, October 21, that peace and tranquillity in border areas are a "sine qua non" for India and China to collaborate, and that New Delhi hopes Beijing will work with it to find a satisfactory resolution to the current issues while taking each other's sensitivities and interests into account. Shringla further asserted that events along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Eastern Ladakh have had a significant impact on the peace and serenity in border areas, which has surely had an impact on the broader relationship.

(with inputs from ANI/PTI)

Image: ANI/Twitter