India Overhauling Strategic Rail, Road Lines Near Disputed Borders With Pakistan, China For Faster Troop Movements
2013-11-15 13:22:07
Summary：Indian Border Security Force (BSF) soldiers patrol over a footbridge built over a stream near the Line of Contro...
Indian Border Security Force (BSF) soldiers patrol over a footbridge built over a stream near the Line of Control (LoC), a ceasefire line dividing Kashmir between India and Pakistan, at Sabjiyan sector of Poonch district, August 8, 2013. India for the first time directly accused the Pakistan army of involvement in an ambush that killed five Indian soldiers, and hinted on Thursday at retaliation for possibly the worst such attack since the neighbours signed a ceasefire in 2003.
ndia has launched an overhaul of its transport infrastructure, including construction of railway lines and roads near the country’s borders with Pakistan and China, to facilitate swifter and easier movement of troops, in the wake of increased skirmishes along its shared borders over recent months.
The Indian government is laying 14 strategic railway lines in the border states of Jammu and Kashmir and Uttarakhand in the north, Arunachal Pradesh in the northeast and Rajasthan in the northwest, while 3,812 kilometers of new roads (2,368 miles) have been planned along the disputed border with China, Press Trust of India, or PTI, reported on Sunday.
India’s Defense Minister A.K. Antony had said in parliament in September that China had an upper hand in terms of infrastructure near the border and described it as the “collective failure” of successive governments at the center.
“I have no hesitation to say that China is in a better position than India in terms of border infrastructure,” Antony had said. “It is a mistake, it is all of us who are to be held collectively responsible for it. It is a historical legacy.”
Key Words：India,Overhauling,Strategic