India To Build 17 Highways In Border Areas That Can Be Used As IAF Airstrips

Just days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated India’s longest road bridge built near the country’s border with China, a move that invited ire from Beijing, Minister of Road and Transport Nitin Gadkari has said that the Centre is building 17 highways in border areas that can be used as airstrips for the Indian Air Force (IAF).

"People residing in border areas need highway network and better infrastructure. We are building 17 such highways which can be converted into airstrips," Press Trust of India quoted Gadkari as saying. Last year, Gadkari had spoken of similar projects planned in Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya and some other border states.

The decision to built dual-use highways was taken after IAF sent a plan for utilisation of highway as landing strips during eventualities at 21 locations to Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Russian news agency Sputnik has said in its report, citing a government official. According to the agency, these highways will be equipped with weapon storage areas and fire-fighting equipment.

In view of the large-scale infrastructure development that China has undertaken in areas along its border with India, New Delhi has changed its strategy of not developing border areas, adopted in the aftermath of the China-India war of 1962. India has now started working on infrastructure development to enhance connectivity in forward areas of Jammu and Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh.

Also Read: Turning Roads Into Runways: A Look At Gadkari’s Air Connectivity Plans