BORDER ROADS TEAM VISITS IRAN AND AFGHANISTAN

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LOK SABHA

A team of experts from Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has recently visited Iran and Afghanistan to assess the work involved on roads and bridges in both the countries. This was stated by the Director General Border Roads Lt. Gen Prakash Suri here today. He said BRO is presently involved in construction of 14,722 Kms of roads and maintenance of another 18,000 kms of roads. Gen Suri said that one of the most formidable challenges to his organization was to keep road communication open in snow-bound areas of Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and insurgency prone areas of north-east. He said that BRO has lost 405 persons including six officers during last one year while working against all odds in remote and inhospitable terrains and adverse climatic conditions. He said the Planning Commission has asked BRO to construct 1,227 kms of roads in backward districts of Tripura, Assam and Nagaland as a part of Prime Minister’s economic package aimed at fast track development of that area. Gen Suri said that BRO has constructed 35,577 kms of roads and 18,004 meters of permanent bridges since its inception.

The five day annual conference of Chief Engineers of all the thirteen projects of BRO began here today. The conference will discuss a blue print for organisational changes, construction of Rohtang Tunnel, Fast track projects, mobilization during operations of war and administration in remote and insurgency prone areas. The Defence Minister Shri George Fernandes, Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways Major General (retd) BC Khanduri and Minister of State for Defence Shri Chaman Lal Gupta are slated to address the conference.