DEHRADUN: Uttarakhand, which has a strategic location among the northern Himalayan states, shares a 350-km-long border with China and an almost 275-km-long border with Nepal. With both these border areas currently on high alert, the state government has taken a number of steps to ensure that these areas are safeguarded.
These include ramping up the number of helipads and setting up airstrips near border areas to facilitate ease of movement, besides earmarking funds for development. The state government has also drawn up plans to encourage reverse migration to villages in border areas that had in the past few years become empty.
Talking to TOI, chief minister T S Rawat said, “In the last few years, the perception of the government and people alike has changed towards the border areas. They have now become priority sectors.” He added that the number of helipads in the state have gone up from 20 to 50 and the Army has set up a walnut nursery in Chamoli district with the intent to check migration. “The state has now three active airstrips and has got in-principle approval for another airstrip in Almora,” he said.
Colonel (retired) Pradeep Goyal said that in the long run Uttarakhands efforts to build more helipads and airstrips will help the armed forces in emergency and crisis situations. In addition to air connectivity, Uttarakhand has also been working on ramping up road connectivity to border areas.
The CM said that the BRO has either completed or is on track to complete most of its projects in the state. “Due to the road made by BRO, it noRead More – Source
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