The Indian Army is about to inaugurate the highest railway bridge in the world in the remote and contentious region of Kashmir after a 15-year building phase.
This improvement is the most recent in a series of infrastructure upgrades meant to strengthen defence capabilities and integrate the region with the country.
The Chenab Rail Bridge spans the same-named river and is 29 meters higher than Paris’ Eiffel Tower at 359 meters. According to the Ministry of Railways, the connection will open by the end of December or January 2024. The government claims this will assist Kashmir to achieve “prosperity.”
Significant strategic advantages are also promised to the Indian military. The bridge is expected to provide access to the Ladakh region in almost all weather conditions near the sensitive Chinese border and Kashmir, which has long been the source of hostility between India and Pakistan, which also claims the territory.
Former Indian Army northern commander D.S. Hooda projected it would “really change the game” regarding military capacity, local trade, and tourism. In addition to providing the army with a speedy means to move troops and equipment, he said that it would assist Kashmir people in transporting their apples and other goods, Indian Defense News reported.
“The train can carry 50 times what a truck would carry,” Hooda said.
Former army logistics Chief Major General Amrit Pal described how the bridge should save travel time.
“If convoys have to go from Jammu to Srinagar, they take 12 hours, and if it is a logistic convoy, it takes 16 hours,” he said. “Now, that journey will be done in three hours.”
Pal added, “Ultimately, logistics is all about making the right people reach at the correct time.”
However, despite the bridge’s potential economic advantages, some Kashmiris are apprehensive of the effort to further integrate the predominantly Muslim territory into India’s national fabric, Indian Defense News said.
