Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurates BRO website to promote tourism in border areas

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated Border Roads Organisation (BRO) Tourism portal in New Delhi on Thursday, March 24. The website aims to facilitate e-booking of guided tours to the road infrastructure projects constructed by the BRO.

The website contains photos and video galleries of tourist destinations and local flora & fauna, besides providing information about the BRO, the nature of works it has executed in border states and the challenges faced.

In the initial phase, only e-Booking for a guided tour to Atal Tunnel, Rohtang will be available through the portal. Soon, infrastructure projects in Ladakh, Jammu & Kashmir, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh etc. will be included for guided tours. The world’s highest motorable road at Umling La Pass, state-of-the-art bi-lane Sela Tunnel and Nechiphu Tunnel are among the projects which will be included.

During the inauguration, the first ticket from the website was presented to the Raksha Mantri by Director General Border Roads (DGBR) Lt Gen Rajeev Chaudhry.

Rajnath Singh, in his address, appreciated the efforts of the BRO in developing the portal and exuded confidence that the website will go a long way in boosting tourism in far-flung areas.

He made special mention of the setting up of BRO Cafes at 75 places in far-flung areas, expressing confidence that these cafes will provide basic amenities to the travellers, promote tourism in remote areas and strengthen the local economy. He also praised the BRO for constructing more than 60,000 kilometres of roads, 850 major bridges, 19 airstrips and four tunnels over the last six decades, thereby playing a vital role in nation building through infrastructure development in remote and inaccessible areas.

Pointing out the willingness of people, especially the youth, to connect with the subjects related to defence, Rajnath Singh urged the officials of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to devise a plan to promote defence tourism.