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The Shyok Tunnel is a 920-meter-long cut-and-cover tunnel on the Darbuk-Shyok-Daulat Beg Oldie (DS-DBO) Road in eastern Ladakh, inaugurated on December 7, 2025, by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh as part of 125 border infrastructure projects.
About
- Length: The Shyok Tunnel measures 920 to 982 meters in length, constructed using cut-and-cover technology.​
- Location: Situated at over 12,000 feet altitude on the 255-km Darbuk–Shyok–Daulat Beg Oldie (DSDBO) Road in eastern Ladakh, near the Line of Actual Control (LAC).​
- Inauguration: Opened on December 7, 2025, by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh as part of 125 Border Roads Organisation (BRO) projects worth over Rs 5,000 crore.​
- Strategic Importance: Provides all-weather connectivity, enabling quick troop mobilization, logistics transport, and reduced reliance on air maintenance amid harsh winters, avalanches, and extreme conditions.​
- Construction and Features: Built by BRO under Project Himank to bypass avalanche, landslide, and flood-prone sections; includes a new bridge over the Shyok River.​
Strategic Importance
- This tunnel enhances India's defense posture amid tensions with China and Pakistan by enabling rapid troop mobilization, logistics supply, and redeployment along the 322-km DS-DBO Road, which was critical post-2020 Galwan clashes.
- It reduces travel time from Leh to DBO from two days to six hours and minimizes reliance on air maintenance during harsh winters.
- Built by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) under Project Himank, it includes a new bridge over the Shyok River.​
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