The events of the summer of 2020 in Eastern Ladakh were a wake-up call for India. However, the Chinese intrusions only served to enhance the Indian resolve to take on the dragon. Many gaps in capability were to be filled, if the Chinese were to be kept at bay. It was also the time when the world was figuring out a way to overcome the menace that emanated from Wuhan. One of the most pressing problems faced by
India, as it struggled to contain Covid at home and the Chinese on the border, was the huge disparity in infrastructure near the border areas. The Border Roads Organisation (BRO), in charge of road construction at the frontiers, had to act fast and overcome multiple challenges. During these trying circumstances, Lt Gen Rajeev Chaudhry (Retd) took over the reins of the force. In the midst of a global pandemic, the likes of which the world had never seen, he had to start afresh in many areas and execute multiple projects with a new sense of urgency. Lt Gen Chaudhry while speaking to our Editor-in-Chief Nitin Gokhale shared how using methods, both new and old, his force, facing an acute manpower shortage, overcame and delivered during India’s hour of need relying on the whole of nation approach.
At a time when the Prime Minister called the villages of India at its very periphery as India’s core assets, we were still struggling with last-mile connectivity. BRO’s biggest challenge was its manpower crunch. With 70% of its workforce stuck in Dumka, the premier border road construction agency had to think of novel ways to come on top of the challenges.
The first step taken by the government was to increase the budget allocated to the BRO from Rs 2,500 crore in the Financial Year 2021-22 to over Rs 3,500 crore in the next fiscal year for its capital works allocation. It was a major boost for the strategic road making agency. Infused with a new resolve, the construction agency also adopted newer technology and methods to construct roads for the frontiers. Many of
these roads face some of the worst climatic conditions imaginable. Roads are built in some of the most rain drenched areas and also traverse
across the highest mountains in the world. A long-standing problem, the erosion of roads due to weak aggregate (a layer of small stones that helps bind the surface together; black-topping is done atop a layer of aggregate) was also resolved using a novel approach. BRO used steel slag, a waste by-product in steel manufacturing. India is the second largest manufacturer of steel slag. Replacement of aggregate brought to the North East from far away states such as Odisha, also helped in reducing transportation costs. Similarly, plastic was added to bitumen to produce a stronger road that is better resistant to erosion by water.
The agency also purchased new ‘Made In India’ machinery and vehicles which increased the productivity of the agency. Purchasing equipment has made the task of the BRO more efficient and is adding towards long- term cost savings.
Another area where the agency also did shine was the strengthening of bridges. The BRO used newer types of bridges that can now take heavier vehicles up to 70-tons. The new bridges are also more resistant to flash floods that used to destroy Bailey bridges, used previously. The bridges now used are built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers and are cheaper and more effective than similar bridges imported from abroad. Similarly, cheaper culverts are made using newer technology, which are nearly two-thirds as cheap as the older ones.
Since Galwan, BRO has reached greater heights. It has now paved the world’s highest road at 19,024 feet and is aiming higher at a road which will be at 19,400 feet. Besides this, the BRO is currently working on ten high-altitude road tunnels and is planning to build eight more. Besides this, the unique organisation will also build India’s highest airbase at Nyoma at an altitude of 13,700 feet.
Dhruv Yadav
