MEETING OF THE BORDER ROADS DEVELOPMENT
BOARD
Following is the
full text of the address of the Minister of State for Defence
Prof. Chaman Lal Gupta which he made today in New Delhi while
presiding over the meeting of the Border Roads Development Board:-
It gives me immense
pleasure to welcome all the members of the Border Road Development
Board to this meeting. Incidentally, this is the first meeting
of the Board which I am chairing.
As you are aware,
Border Roads Organisation was set up in May 1960 with an aim to
enhance the logistic infrastructure for the operational and strategic
needs of the Army in the border areas and at the same time to
contribute towards the socio-economic development of the Border
States, keeping the task of construction of General Staff roads
as the prime objective. There was a felt need, at that point of
time, for a separate Central Government Organisation supported
by a dedicated executive force, to achieve the above vision.
During over 40 years
of its existence, the Border Roads Organsiation has grown in strength,
completing nearly 33000 kilometres of surfaced roads across the
length and breadth of the country as well as in Bhutan and Myanmar.
BRO also maintains about 19000 kms of roads in difficult and inhospitable
terrain. This Organisation has diversified from initial responsibility
of road construction to various other construction activities
which include airfields, permanent bridges and other prestigious
building projects. The BRO now proudly boasts of being one of
the premier construction agencies, contributing immensely in building
up of infrastructure of Independent India. It is also a matter
of great satisfaction that development activities, undertaken
by the BRO have facilitated all-round socio-economic development
and upliftment of people of the concerned areas, especially as
it provides livelihood to the local population.
The Organisation's
prime responsibility was towards meeting the Operational road
infrastructure requirements of General Staff. But over the years,
this Organisation has taken up works on National Highways for
the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways in addition to various
construction projects for the Ministry of Home Affairs and the.
Ministry of External Affairs, State Governments and Semi Government
Organisations.
BRO engineers are
constantly endeavouring to upgrade, improve and modernise their
technical skills by adopting new technologies and rapid advancement
that is taking place in the construction world. Many Engineers
of BRO are now members of various technical bodies and institutions. They
are actively participating in national and international Seminars/Symposium
and Workshops to interact with the outside world and update their
knowledge and skills.
You would appreciate
that the rank and file of this Organisation work in extremely
inhospitable terrain, often deep in the hinterland, far away from
their families in the most difficult conditions of work. A large
number of the Border Roads projects are in insurgency prone sectors.
Though BRO is an unarmed force, the Organisation continues to
ensure regular and continuous maintenance and repairs. This speaks
volumes of the dedication, motivation and commitment of the Border
Roads Organisation.
Hailing from Jammu
and Kashmir, I have been closely associated with achievements
of the BRO over the last few years and am fully aware of the tremendous
contributions made by the Organization towards infrastructure
development in the Border States as well as in other parts of
the country.
Consequent to the
Kargil operations, the BRO was also called upon to develop several
roads in forward areas in J&K, especially in the Kargil sector.
I am aware that this critical activity was taken up in real earnest
by the projects in J&K as a national effort and most of the
forward sectors have been connected, in the shortest possible
time.
I am indeed happy
to note that the BRO has been entrusted with the challenging and
prestigious task of construction of the longest road tunnel in
the country i.e. the Rohtang Tunnel and construction of the alternate
route to Leh. The work on this project has already commenced and
it would be a major milestone towards achievements of the BRO,
when completed.
I would finally like
to reiterate that the country and the Defence Forces are proud
of the achievements of the BRO. I am sure, the Organisation will
grow from strength to strength in the years to come.
In the end, I would
like to express my confidence that the deliberations and exchange
of views during this Meeting would contribute effectively towards
the growth of BRO. With these words, I wish this Meeting a grand
success.
