India's first underwater tunnel to be built across Brahmaputra with eye on Chinese threat

NEW DELHI: The Central government is all set to build an important tunnel under the Brahmaputra River to counter the China threat. A separate tunnel connecting road and rail will be constructed connecting Arunachal Pradesh and Assam.

The project is expected to cost an expense of Rs 7,000 crore. It will be the first underwater tunnel in the country. The project is being planned in collaboration with the Border Road Organization (BRO).

The project will have three tunnels. One of them is for road transport. The second tunnel is for railways and the third for emergency purposes. These three tunnels will be connected to each other by a cross passage.

The tunnel will be 20 to 30 meters deep from the river bed. Each tunnel will be 9.8 km long. The aim is to build a tunnel from Tezpur in Assam to the entrance of the Brahmaputra River in Arunachal Pradesh.

Objectives of the tunnel

The tunnels are intended to be used for strategic military purposes and for public use. The main goal is to overcome the Chinese challenges. Chinese challenges along the Arunachal Pradesh border have become a headache for India.

In the event of a war, China could easily attack the roads and bridges leading to the Arunachal Pradesh border. To overcome this situation, the Central Government came up with the goal of a tunnel.

The Brahmaputra River is an obstacle for the troops to reach the border areas of Arunachal Pradesh. With the completion of the tunnel, troops and weapons can be easily brought to the border. It is learned that the tunnel has become an unavoidable requirement for the Ministry of Defence.