Rajnath Singh To Inaugurate Col Chewang Rinchen Bridge In Ladakh Today

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is scheduled a bridge built between Durbuk and the Daulat Beg Oldie airport in eastern Ladakh on Monday. The Col Chewang Rinchen bridge is located 45 km east of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China.

Singh is expected to review the security situation in the region which shares borders with both China and Pakistan. Rajnath Singh will visit Daulat Beg Oldie and other areas on the Line of Actual Control.

It will reduce travel time by about half and help in the development of border areas and the villages across the Shyok river. The strategically important bridge has been built by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) and can accommodate vehicles of 70 tonnes class and is 4.5 metres wide.

The bridge has been named after a highly-decorated soldier of the Indian Army, Colonel Chewang Rinchen, who belonged to Ladakh.

Ladakh, which is set to become a Union Territory on October 31, is a unique region as it shares its borders with China and Pakistan.

While on the one side is the Siachen-Kargil-Drass axis on the Pakistan front, it shares a long border with China on the eastern side.