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The Sela Tunnel

  • Posted By
    10Pointer
  • Categories
    Polity & Governance
  • Published
    20th May, 2022

Context

The strategically-significant Sela Tunnel project in Arunachal Pradesh is nearing completion.

About the Sela tunnel project

  • The Sela tunnel was announced by the government in 2018.
  • The Sela Tunnel is the longest bi-lane road tunnel in the world.
  • It is being built on the 317km long Balipara-Charduar-Tawang (BCT) road which connects West Kameng, East Kameng and Tawang districts of Arunachal Pradesh to the rest of the country.
  • It is located in the West Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh.
  • The project is being executed by the Border Roads Organisation.
  • This will be the longest twin-lane tunnel at an altitude of 13,800ft near the Indo-China border.
  • The project includes two tunnels and a link road.
    • Tunnel 1 is 980m long
    • Tunnel 2 which is 1555m long is a twin tube tunnel.
    • Tunnel 2 has one bi-lane tube for traffic and one escape tube for emergencies.
    • The link road between the two tunnels will be 1,200 metres.
  • Tunnels longer than 1500 m need to have an escape passage alongside.
  • The total length of the project, including the tunnels, the approach and the link roads, will be around 12 km.
  • The tunnels are coming up through two ridges west of Sela.

Significance

  • China is undertaking massive infrastructure development and troop build-up in the Rest of Arunachal Pradesh (RALP) area.
  • In military parlance, the RALP is an area in Arunachal Pradesh other than the Kameng area.
  • Other than the Kameng area consisting of East and West Kameng districts, the rest of the State is referred to by the Army as the RALP.
  • All-weather connectivity to Tawang and other forward areas in the sector
  • This project Will provide a new alignment on the axis towards the LAC, and allow movement of military and civil vehicles all through the year (Sela pass stays closed for a few winter months).
  • Reduction in more than one hour of travel time from Tezpur to Tawang and travellers avoiding dangerous snow covered Sela top at a height of 13,700 feet.

Verifying, please be patient.