India starts work on 135 km strategic road along LAC in Ladakh

India has started building a strategic road along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh that will, in the most part, trace the Indus and mirror a blacktop surface link on the Chinese side. The road will plug a vital gap in connectivity between the strategically important Chushul south of Pangong Tso and Demchok in eastern Ladakh. It will provide rapid access to the Tibetan refugee settlement of Dungti overlooking ITBP’s Hena post, and the advanced landing ground at Fukche. Border Roads Organisation kicked off the groundwork on Republic Day and expects to complete the project in two years. Plans for replacing the present iron bridge across Indus at Loma with a concrete bridge in the vicinity will allow easy movement of heavy military gear to the heart of eastern Ladakh.