Indian Army To Increase Its Ammunition Stockpile Near Pakistan Border; New Tunnels, Caves In Offing

Indian Army is all set to construct caves and semi-underground tunnels in the mountain ranges of the northern border to store ammunition, the project in its pilot stages will have four tunnels which include one tunnel each in Tawang sector and one in Jammu and Kashmir respectively, DNA India has reported.

It is expected to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with National Hydroelectric Power Corporation Ltd (NHPC) for the undertaking of the project. The project estimated to cost Rs 15 crores, when completed will have a capacity to stock 150 to 250 metric tonnes of ammunition in each of the caves or tunnel.

NHPC approached the army after the later ran into technical issues like seepage and dampness when storing ammunition in a cave at a high altitude area. NHPC was chosen after it showed its technical expertise, capability and capacity to construct such ambitious projects without any glitches cost-effectively.

The Indian government in on a drive to modernise its Armed forces and increase its ammunition stockpiles has finalised Rs 15,000 crore worth long-term contracts. It signed 19 contracts worth Rs 11,740 crore with domestic private players to manufacture seven different types of ammo of Smerch rockets and Konkurs anti-tank guided missiles, 125-mm armour-piercing fin-stabilised discarding sabot ammunition for its T-90S and T-72 tanks, and other ammunition.