Member of Parliament from Ladakh, Jamyang Tsering Namgyal (JTN) raised the demands in Parliament for the construction of roads of Paddar-Padum, Udaipur-Padum, and Korzok-Kiato for strengthening the Indian border in the Northern region.
Raising his demands under business rule 377 of the Lok Sabha, Ladakh MP Jamyang Tsering Namgyal emphasized that India has war experiences of 1948, 1962, 1965, 1971, 1999 and the Galwan conflict of 2020. Unprecedented border tussles usher the nation to develop some alternative routes to connect the border with mainstream land. Despite the commendable works on Nimo-Padum- Darcha Road including the tunnel at Shinku La and Zojila pass there is a need to focus on better, shorter, and economically more feasible roads and tunnels on priority to keep our border well secured.
During the ongoing Parliament session, MP Jamyang raised demands for the construction of three major roads to connect Ladakh with the mainstream countryside in Himachal’s Lahaul-Spiti district and J&K’s Kishtwar for greater interest.
He said there are three possibilities for building a shorter road from Kishtwar district of Jammu division to the Zanskar valley of Ladakh which are the construction of 45 km Paddar-Padum Road, Kishtwar-Atholi-Maichil- Soomchan-Zongkhul or 80 km Kishtwar-Atholi-Maichil-Dangail-Potla-Bardan’. This will be the shortest route between Northern Command and Pathankot Airforce/Military station to Ladakh as it will reduce the distance by about 150 km. This route being the shortest was also followed by the legendary Dogra General Zorawar Singh during his conquests of Ladakh and eastern Tibet in the 1830s.
Construction of Udaipur-Padum Road from Miyar Valley of Himachal’s Lahaul via Khanjar- Zardong-Kesar-Kang La-Padum or Khanjar-Shangkha-Thangso-Kargyak near Shinkunla Zanskar will also reduce the distance.
Construction of a 100 km Road from Korzok village at Tso Moriri lake of Ladakh to Kiato in Himachal’s Spiti valley will also provide easy access to eastern Ladakh via Chandigarh-Shimla-Kinnaur-Kaza-Kiato-Korzok road. This will be the first all-weather road to Ladakh without need of any traffic tunnel.
He further highlighted that these roads can help to connect the Paddar and Chenab valleys of J&K and Lahaul-Spiti valleys and help in creating economic potential along with other advantages along with securing the border. These roads will also boost tourism in different parts of Ladakh as tourists will have multiple travel options.
At present, Ladakh is connected from the mainland with two major roads — Srinagar – Leh highway and Manali-Leh highway — while the third road Nimmu-Padum-Darcha is under construction but operational seasonally. All these roads remain blocked with snow in the winter season. The people of Ladakh and the military remain totally dependent on flight services to travel to/from Ladakh.
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