Nelong Valley: Indian government has undertaken a special strategic projectto connect all the border posts along the Sino-India frontier with roads,Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said on Monday, Zee News has reported.
Singh ringed in the new year with the troops of the Indo-Tibetan BorderPolice (ITBP) at the border post located at a height of 11,614 feet inUttarakhand. This was the first time a home minister or a senior Unionminister paid a visit to the Nelong border post.
“A project is underway to connect all the border outposts alongthe Sino-India border with roads,” Singh said, addressingthe ITBP jawans and officers. He added that while a number of border postshad already been connected with roads, many more would be linked soon.
Talking about the incidents of Chinese incursion, he said the ITBP wassuccessful in preventing such incidents. “China is our neighbouring countryand we have good relations with them. India has always tried to maintaingood relations with its neighbours,” Singh said.
Stating that there were some “perceptional differences” with Chinaregarding the Sino-India border, he said, “There had been some face-offswith China, but no such incident had occurred in the recentpast,” PTIreported.
India had never been expansionist, Singh said, adding that the countrysimply wanted to remain secure like any other country in the world.
“China is a growing economy and India is also the fastest-growing economyin the world. So, it is obvious that these two countries would not want atussle between them,” he said.
Singh also instructed the ITBP personnel, in the presence of the force’sDirector General (DG), RK Pachnanda, to find out ways to rotate the troopsat such high-altitude posts in less than three months’ time. Currently, thetroops are rotated every three months.
“I have come here to see the conditions in which the ITBP jawans areguarding the Sino-India border,” the minister said.
He added that the Centre had recently decided that the light-weight,special winter clothing, which was earlier provided to the troops posted atan altitude of above 14,000 feet, would now also be provided to the jawansposted at a height of over 9,000 feet.
Snow scooters, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) and mountaineering equipmentwere also being provided to the jawans, Singh said.
The ITBP was raised in the aftermath of the Chinese aggression of 1962 andis tasked with guarding the 3,488-km- long Sino-India border.