Rajnath Singh to visit India-China border areas in Uttarakhand

NEW DELHI: Home Minister Rajnath Singh will this week visit China-India border area in Uttarakhand which has witnessed transgression by China's People's Liberation Army in the recent past, officials said.

During the tour to Barahoti, the home minister will interact with the personnel of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police which guards the border outpost located at an altitude of 14,311 feet.

This is the first visit by a senior minister in the Narendra Modi government to China border after the resolution of the standoff in Doklam.

Singh will also visit ITBP border outposts at Rimkhim (altitude 12,500 feet), Mana (10,500 feet) and Auli (10,200 feet) during the four-day trip beginning September 28, a home ministry official said.

There were reports that on July 25, Chinese soldiers had entered 800 meters into the Indian territory in Barahoti, located in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district, and stayed for sometime before returning to the Chinese territory.

The home minister will also address the probationers of the IAS, IPS and other services at the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration in Mussoorie, besides interacting with central government's additional secretary rank officials there on the first day of the visit.

The home minister is expected to review the situation on the border, address a 'Sainik Sammelan' and assess the progress in various infrastructure projects, another home ministry official said.

The 3,488 km-long India-China border stretches through Jammu and Kashmir (1,597 km), Himachal Pradesh (200 km), Uttarakhand (345 km), Sikkim (220 km) and Arunachal Pradesh (1,126 km).

The Chinese and Indian troops were in a face-off situation for more than two months in Doklam in Sikkim sector after Indians stopped the construction of a road by China's army.

The China-India border is not fully demarcated and the process of clarifying and confirming the Line of Actual Control is in progress.

The area is characterised by high-altitude terrain and thick habitation which have resulted in inadequate development of infrastructure in these regions.

To redress the situation arising out of lack of infrastructure along border with China, the government has decided to undertake construction of 73 roads of operational significance.

Of these, 27 roads involving 804.93 km are being constructed by the home ministry in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh at an estimated cost of Rs 1,937 crore.