Tuesday 21st Apr, 2026
Roads, bridges are lifelines of any nation: Rajnath Singh
Jammu, Jul 20: Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday inaugurated the 1000 metre long Ujh bridge in Kathua district and 617.40 metre Basantar bridge in Samba distrist of Jammu region and dedicated them to the nation asserting that roads and bridges are lifelines of any nation.
The event was attended by Union Minister Dr Jitender Singh, Gen Bipin Rawat, Chief of The Army Staff, Lt Gen Harpal Singh, Director General Border Roads, Maj Gen Y P Khanduri, GOC, Gurj Division alongwith many other Army and Civil administration dignitaries.
The I000 mtr long Ujh bridge is the longest bridge constructed by BRO and also has the distinction of using technology of Pre Cast Segmental bridge with 60 mtr spans.
It has been constructed at a cost of approximately Rs 50 crore and completed within scheduled time.
The bridge is located on Parole-Korepannu-Rajpura road over the Ujh river.
Basantar bridge has been constructed with a total cost of approx Rs. 41.7 crore. The bridge is located on Rajpura – Madwal – Pangadur – Phulpur road over Basantar river.
Both these bridges have been constructed under 69 Road Construction Company of 13 Border Roads Task Force under supervision of Project Sampark. These bridges will provide smooth connectivity and are vital for mobility of Security Forces in border areas.
These bridges will be a big relief for the locals of border villages of Kathua and Samba as road connectivity used to get severed during monsoons. Both the bridges will also boost the local socio-economic growth.
Terming construction of Ujh and Basantpur Bridges ”a great achievement” by BRO, Mr Singh said that the roads and bridges are the lifeline of any nation and play a vital role in the socio-economic development of far flung regions and population.
He praised BRO personnel for working in the most hostile and the difficult areas, away from their families and rendering commendable services through construction and maintenance of roads and bridges in border areas fulfilling the strategic need of Indian Defence Forces. Reiterating the Central Government’s commitment to the development of connectivity in Jammu and Kashmir area, he said “our Prime Minister is regularly monitoring the progress of these projects and funds are being ensured accordingly”.
Union MoS Dr Jitender Singh also highlighted the development program of Central Govt and PM Modi’s steps for boosting connectivity in the J&K.
Lt Gen Harpal Singh, DGBR, underlined the contribution of BRO to the nation in far flung areas of the country under extremely difficult and harsh conditions. Admiring the contribution of Project Sampark and congratulating all the employees associated with this project, he offered his sincere thanks to the Defence Minister and other dignitaries and locals for their support for completion of the projects.