Topics Covered: Security challenges and their management in border areas; linkages of organized crime with terrorism.
Frontier Highway project:
Context:
Since the Ladakh stand-off between the Indian and Chinese armies in May, Arunachal Pradesh has been pushing for the ambitious Frontier Highway project along the “India-Tibet border” for facilitating faster movement of troops if a war-like situation arises.
About the Frontier Highway Project:
- It is also called as the Arunachal Frontier Highway and Mago-Thingbu–Vijaynagar Border Highway.
- The 2,000-kilometre-long road follows the McMahon Line.
- It accompanies the Trans-Arunachal Highway (through the middle) and the Arunachal East-West Corridor (in the foothills along the Assam border) as major highways spanning Arunachal Pradesh, pursuing the Look East connectivity concept.
- The highway will intersect with the proposed East-West Industrial Corridor Highway in the foothills of Arunachal Pradesh from Bhairabkunda, the tri-junction of Bhutan, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh to Ruksin in East Siang district.
- The highway will cross the Dibang Wildlife Sanctuary, which may raise environmental issues.
Need for:
- The highway will generate employment and increase tourism in these hard-to-reach areas.
- The highway will check Chinese incursions into Indian territory. China has built an extensive road and railway network on its side, posing a security risk to India as the region is relatively inaccessible on the Indian side.
InstaLinks:
Prelims Link:
- About the Frontier Highway Project.
- About the Trans-Arunachal Highway.
Mains Link:
Why do we need the Frontier Highway project? Discuss.
Sources: the Hindu.
