Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, on Friday, said that people who live near the borders of the country are no less than soldiers. If a soldier protects the country by wearing a uniform, the residents of border areas are serving the motherland in their own way,” he said.

Singh was speaking at an event at Joshimath-Malari Road in Uttarakhand where he dedicated to the nation 35 infrastructure projects of Border Roads Organisation (BRO), built at a cost of Rs 670 crore. These projects include 29 bridges and six roads of which eleven are in Jammu & Kashmir; nine in Ladakh; eight in Arunachal Pradesh; three in Uttarakhand; two in Sikkim; and one each in Mizoram and Himachal Pradesh.

The Defence Minister stated that the government sees the border areas as the face of India, which is why it is ensuring that world-class infrastructure is created in these zones. He stressed that connectivity to the borders is not just strategic but pivotal for the welfare of the residents in those regions. Rajnath Singh further asserted that the present government considers the border areas as part of the mainstream people and is committed to its development and commended the BRO for strengthening the border infrastructure of the country.

Speaking on the increasing number of natural disasters in some border States/UTs, including Uttarakhand, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh and Sikkim in recent years, the Union Minister said that climate change is not just a weather-related phenomenon, but a very serious issue related to national security.

He made special mention of the BRO’s contribution in the recent Silkyra Tunnel operation launched to rescue the trapped labourers in Uttarakhand. Commending the BRO personnel, especially women workers, for their tireless hard work during the operation, Rajnath Singh congratulated the entire team of General Reserve Engineer Force (GREF) for carrying out its duties in the time of crisis. He termed the operation, which witnessed coordinated efforts of National Disaster Response Force, BRO, Indian Air Force and state agencies, as a great example of teamwork.