Arunachal to get 3 critical bridges in Lohit valley to ease movement of civilians, heavy vehicles & arms

Arunachal to get 3 critical bridges in Lohit valley to ease movement of civilians, heavy vehicles & arms

Lohit valley: With a thrust on connectivity in areas leading up to the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Arunachal Pradesh, the government is constructing three Class 80 bridges in Lohit valley to connect the east and west banks of the Lohit river.

The new bridges are currently under construction in Meshai, Tinai and Hawai in the state’s Anjaw district and will facilitate connectivity to smoothen civilian as well as military movement in the area.

The Lohit river flows from China into India. It enters the country from Wacha in the west and Kaho in the east, turns right in Samdul and flows westwards. The west bank has connectivity from Wacha till Tezu, an important town in eastern Arunachal Pradesh. However, the east bank does not have such seamless connectivity.

The approximate distance between the east and west banks, where the bridges are being constructed, is between 600 and 900 metres.

Starting from the north, Meshai is about 9 km from the LAC. The distance between Meshai and Tinai is about 16 km and further south, the distance between Tinai and Hawai increases to 40 km.

The two banks, as of today, are connected by 17 foot suspension bridges made of wood and only two motorable bridges in Hawai and Karoti. These bridges, however, are of a lower load class.

While the one in Hawai is a Class 40 bridge, the one in Karoti was constructed as Class 18, but was downgraded to Class 12. These bridges, with load class limitations, do not allow the passage of heavy weaponry and equipment to forward areas.

The three new bridges are expected to ease movement, especially in terms of heavy vehicles, armaments and ammunition.

“Troop movement and logistics will be undertaken without hindrance,” a source in the defence establishment said. Moreover, the connectivity will give a boost to advent tourism that the state government is looking to promote.

Once the three bridges come up, they will also facilitate smooth transport from Tezu to the forward areas. The trip currently takes about eight hours.

Sources in the know of ongoing developments said that efforts are on to bring the time down to four-five hours with the ongoing constructions.

Bridges to assist population of 3,000-4,000

The Border Roads Organisation has already started work on the East Bank Road of Lohit valley. As the project progresses, there are plans to connect the road to Hawai. For this to happen, the bridges will play an essential role.

The bridges are further expected to facilitate connectivity not only between the two banks, but to the 75-km road that is being constructed between Dong and Jachep near the India-Myanmar-China trijunction.

India’s border with China, the LAC and India’s border with Myanmar meet at a trijunction ahead of Jachep, which is further east of the east bank of Lohit river.

The Tinai bridge, the source said, will prove to be important as the Dong to Jachep road will pass through Tinai. The construction of the road will resume only after construction ofthe Tinai bridge is complete. As of now, about 10-15 km of this road has been constructed.

Once all the three bridges come up, they will assist a population of 3,000-4,000 in the sparsely-populated region.

Explaining the current status of the road, the source said: “If we look at connectivity from Kaho, India’s eastern-most village in Arunachal Pradesh, to Hawai, connectivity is in patches.”

The source added that the East Bank Road which is perpendicular to the LAC will be an additional road parallel to the west bank.

The length of the Tinai bridge will be 320 metres and the project is worth Rs 54 crore. In the case of Meshai bridge, the length of which will be 280 metres, the cost is Rs 52 crore.

Work for the Tinai bridge started in 2021. In the first year, progress was slow because of poor condition of approach roads to the site. Bringing heavy equipment such as cranes was a challenge, hence, the year went in assembling and establishing the project.

It was only in April 2023 that work could start properly. About 40 percent of Tinai bridge work will be complete by the end of this month.

Going from Tinai, upwards towards Kaho, the villages that will benefit from connectivity are Tinai, Dong, Sapkung, Karoti, Meshai and Kaho.

For the Meshai bridge, work started in October 2023. The deadline for its completion is January 2025 and for Meshai, it is June 2025.

The BRO has sub-allotted the construction of the Tinai and Meshai bridges to a private construction company.

(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)