Sela Tunnel Project: 2 tunnels, link road — All you need to know

PM Modi will also inaugurate 20 other projects, a PTI report said.

Credit: BRO

Strategic importance of tunnel project

The Sela tunnel project, executed by the center’s Border Road Organisation (BRO), consists of two tunnels and a link road. While Tunnel 1 will be 980-metre long single-tube, Tunnel 2 will be 1,555-metre with one bi-lane tube for traffic and one emergency services. The link road between the two tunnels will be 1,200 meters long.

The Tunnel project is aimed at providing all-weather connectivity to the Tawang region — the part long contested by China which describes it as a part of the ancient territory. At the moment, Sela Pass stays closed for a few winter months. The project will provide a new alignment on the axis towards the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with easier movement for military personnel and equipment throughout the year.

Credit: BRO

The 1962 war saw Indian and Chinese forces clash with each other with the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) overrunning Tawang on October 24 that year.

Back in 2019, the government had described three main advantages of the tunnel: All-weather connectivity to forward areas, reduction in more than one hour of travel time from Tezpur to Tawang, and travelers avoiding dangerous snow-covered Sela top at a height of 13,700 feet.

The first blast of Tunnel 1 was done in January 2021 with the final blast for the 980-metre Tunnel 1 was conducted in January 2022. A breakthrough blast for Tunnel 2 was carried out in October 2021.