The Echo of Time
April 1, 2015
India seems not to have lost its hope of building a road through Bhutan to have an easier access to Tawang, near the Sino-Indian border in Arunachal Pradesh, from the plains of Assam. Bhutan is not willing to allow the construction of the road because of objections from China.
According to a PTI report from Tawang on Wednesday, India might again approach Bhutan for an early clearance to the crucial road. Quoting official sources, the report said that the issue was raised by Narendra Modi during his trip to Bhutan as Prime Minister– the first foreign visit undertaken by him after taking over office.
The PTI report said External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had been requested by political representatives from Arunachal Pradesh to convince Bhutan about the benefits it will bring to the economy of that country besides curtailing travel time between strategically important Tawang and Guwahati.
But, according to sources close to the Bhutan government, India had been asking for permission from Bhutan to construct the road for over 10 years, but Bhutan was in a predicament because of Chinese objections. In 2012, when some construction activity was going on in the area, there was a report that China had set up a high altitude police station in the Shannan prefecture in Tibet, in an apparent attempt to keep a tab.
If Bhutan allowed construction of a 15-km stretch between Trashigang in its territory with Lumla in Tawang, the travel time between Guwahati and Tawang would be reduced by six hours. The road would have connected to Assam in Udalguri. The PTI report quoting official sources said the Bhutan government had recently convenyed to India that “it needs more time” to decide on the project connecting Lumla-Tashigang.
“Only a patch of 15 kilometres of Lumla-Tashigang road has not been completed by Bhutan. If this is completed, Tawang will have much better connectivity with Guwahati. The travel time will reduce by six hours and travel distance will reduce by 200 kilometres,” Arunachal Pradesh Tourism Minister Pema Khandu told PTI .
“The road through Lumla-Tashigang will be a much easier affair than crossing Sela Pass. It will not only help Tawang residents to reach Guwahati but also help in reopening the age old border trade between Bhutan and Tawang,” Khandu said.
Presently, Tawang is connected with the plains of Assam through a difficult road from Bhalukpong in the foothills that passes through the 13,500 feet Se La Pass. The proposed road through Bhutanese territory would have followed an easier terrain through which the Tawang Chu river flowed into Bhutan.
The Chinese objection, according to observers, could have been partly because China claimed Tawang as its territory. Also, an easier access for India to Tawang would provide it a strategic advantage in a territory that was once the scene of the 1962 border war.
