The Defence Minister of India Rajnath Singh, on 12 September 2023, dedicated Paghla Bridge at Mon District along with 89 other infrastructure projects of Border Roads Organisation (BRO) spread across 11 States/Union Territories, at an event in Jammu.
These projects, worth over Rs 2,900 crore include Paghla Bridge in Nagaland, Nechiphu Tunnel in Arunachal Pradesh; two airfields in West Bengal; two helipads; 22 roads and 63 bridges. Of these 90 projects, 36 are in Arunachal Pradesh; 26 in Ladakh; 11 in Jammu & Kashmir; five in Mizoram; three in Himachal Pradesh; two each in Sikkim, Uttarakhand & West Bengal and one each in Rajasthan and Andaman & Nicobar Islands.
Tuensang-Mon road crosses the Paghla river at Km 137.150 with water gap of more than 50 meters. The river becomes non-fordable during rainy season which causes inconvenience to road users and also snapping logistic movement in Defence support. Construction of a permanent steel superstructure major PMT bridge of 55.900mtr span steel superstructure of class-70R was planned by BRO/ Project Sewak.
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In his speech, Rajnath Singh credited the timely completion of these projects to the hard work and dedication of its personnel as well as the commitment of the government “Together with BRO, we are ensuring that the nation is secure and border areas are developed. Timely completion of infrastructure projects in far-flung areas has now become the new normal of New India,” he said.
He commended the BRO for completing the construction in record time and described the BRO as ‘bro (brother)’ of the Armed Forces, asserting that, through its infrastructure projects, BRO is not only securing India’s borders, but also playing a key role in the socio-economic development of the far-flung areas.
Singh also called upon the BRO to involve local bodies & the people by understanding their needs and taking inputs for the projects in border areas. “Your job is not only to connect one place with another. It is also to connect the hearts of the people with your actions. The constructions should represent the spirit of ‘for the people, of the people and by the people’,” he said.
Rajya Sabha, Member of Parliament from Nagaland, S Phangnon Konyak joined the BRO in Mon on the “momentous day”. She later stated on X that “the PAGHLA BRIDGE at Mon District which will serve as a crucial lifeline not only for the people but also facilitate swifter movement for our defence forces.”
A momentous day for the nation as Hon’ble Raksha Mantri, Shri @rajnathsingh Ji today inaugurated and dedicated 90 @BROindia infrastructure projects to the nation at a cost of ₹2941 Crores including the PAGHLA BRIDGE at Mon District which will serve as a crucial lifeline not only… pic.twitter.com/h15lMbAZsV
— S. Phangnon Konyak (@SPhangnon) September 12, 2023
