Since the modi government came to power in 2014, they have been planning methodically and strategically to tackle China in every way possible which is trying to snatch away Arunachal Pradesh from India. It has been a 15-20 year old plan of China which unnecessarily raised the border issue to slowly occupy Arunachal Pradesh and call it a disputed Territory.
But the Congress government which was in power for the longest, did not make any effort to stop china either diplomatically or militarily and gave them free hand to stretch their muscles into Indian Territory. This lead China taking complete upper hand in Arunachal Pradesh and India losing nearly 10-15 Sq Kilometer of land since a decade.
But now Modi government has made sure that China stopped all its back door activities in the Arunachal area and sent a clear signal that the land belongs to India and there cannot be any debate or confusion in the issue. The Modi government took up the North East policy very seriously and brought major development in the area which was neglected for nearly 60 years.
Now, the Modi government along with the Indian Army are planning to build a strategic tunnel under the Brahmaputra river in Assam for unhindered movement of military vehicles. The tunnel would be located on the upstream of the Brahmaputra near Tezpur in Assam, connecting north and south banks of the river, top government officials said. Its length is expected to be 12-15 km and may have both rail and road networks or just the latter, depending on construction difficulties and gradient. (Economic Times)
The main reason to take up this plan, is to connect the Assam and Arunachal Pradesh along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China which will also help easy access to Indian Army to Arunachal Pradesh. They claimed the tunnel would ensure complete protection to military convoys. As depth and course of the Brahmaputra keep changing, the most likely option is to construct the tunnel under the river bed, the officials said.
Existing bridges, such as the Deopani Bridge between Arunachal’s Lower Dibang Valley and Upper Dibang Valley with Assam, remain exposed to enemy missiles. Other such structures are: the Dhola Sadiya Bridge across the Lohit river, linking Tinsukhia in Assam with Roing in Arunachal, and the Bogibeel Bridge connecting Pasighat with Dibrugarh.
