Construction of 130-km alternative road to DBO outpost in Ladakh reaches final stages
NEW DELHI: The new alternative 130-km road to the country's strategically located Daulat Beg Oldie (DBO) military outpost in eastern Ladakh is now in the final stages of construction in the forbidding high-altitude region, with the entire stretch likely to be fully operational by Oct-Nov next year.
The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has been working hard to complete this much-needed alternative road to the crucial sector - which includes Depsang Plains where Indian and Chinese troops disengaged in Oct last year - from Sasoma in the Nubra Valley through Saser Brangsa to the DBO outpost, as reported by TOI earlier. DBO, which includes an advance landing ground (ALG) at an altitude of 16,614 feet, overlooks the Karakoram Pass and is just a few km from the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and the China-occupied Aksai Chin region.
All connectivity work from Sasoma to Saser Brangsa on the new road, including black-topping, and around 60%-70% of it eastwards towards Murgo and Gapshan has been completed by BRO, said sources.
"Some heavy military equipment, including artillery guns like Bofors, have been moved on the completed stretches to test their load-carrying capacity. The entire 130-km road (Sasoma-Saser La-Saser Brangsa-Gapshan-DBO) should be ready by Oct-Nov 2026," a source said.
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It will enhance the capacity to move soldiers, weapons and logistics faster to the frontier. A seven-km tunnel under Saser La (La means pass), which is at an altitude of 17,660 feet, is also planned for all-weather connectivity.
The People's Liberation Army will not be able to easily track military movements on the new road, unlike the existing 255-km Darbuk-Shyok-DBO road that runs almost parallel to the LAC before ending around 20 km short of the Karakoram Pass. India had stepped-up the construction of the new 130-km road in the backdrop of the military confrontation with China.
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