India Looking To Complete Work On Strategic Darbuk-Shyok-Daulat Beg Oldie Road By Year End

In a positive development, the Border Road Organisation (BRO) is looking to finish the the work on the 255 Km-long strategic Darbuk-Shyok-Daulat Beg Oldie (DSDBO) road including eight bridges along with its blacktopping at some of the stretches by the end of this year, reports Asian News International.

The development comes amid the ongoing tensions between India and China along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh over the Chinese military build-up.

The construction of DSDBO road will lead to a reduction in time of travel for the Indian security forces moving from Leh to Daulat Beg Oldi to six hours. Earlier, the time of travel was significantly higher.

“We are planning that the work on the entire stretch should be complete by the end of this year which includes eight bridges of different sizes and blacktopping of the road at some of the stretches,” government sources was quoted as saying by ANI.

Critical for connectivity in north-eastern Ladakh — termed Sub-Sector North by the Army, the DS-DBO road provides all-weather access to far-flung areas abutting the 38,000 square km territory of Aksai Chin under Chinese occupation, such as the Depsang Plains, which saw a tense India-China stand-off in 2013.

As per the report, the labour workforce has started the movement towards the high altitude locations in Ladakh from Jharkhand after proper checks and screening by the local authorities for Covid-19. The workforce in Jharkhand is considered to be the most suited for working in this hilly terrain as they adapt to the conditions there very well.