The nationwide lockdown has affected construction and maintenance of strategic roads in the frontier region of Ladakh because of the shortage of labour as the traditional migrant labour from Nepal, Jharkhand and other places has failed to reach this time.
Besides the local labour of Ladakh, a good number of manpower comes from Nepal, Dumka (Jharkhand), Bihar and various other places. The strength of local labour is not adequate for being deployed on the strategic roads leading to the Line of Actual Control (LAC) between India and China as a result of which dependency is on migrant labour.
These roads are maintained by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) that has already reopened the Srinagar-Leh highway by clearing huge accumulation of snow that keeps the road shut for about five months in a year. The alternate road linking Leh from Manali in Himachal Pradesh has a couple of high passes and takes a little longer time to reopen.
The labour department has appealed the labourers stranded here to take the opportunity of working in these road projects where they will be provided all basic amenities including kerosene, PWS clothing, rations, shelter and vehicle for reaching the worksite.
The department has sought 14,800 labourers for 16 projects on strategic roads in the union territory (UT) of Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh and Uttrakhand.
An officer of the BRO confirmed that shortage of labour was being faced due to the lockdown and local labour has been deployed on the roads. Although the major roads have been reopened after the winters labour was required for their day to day maintenance.
The labour department has said that the highest number of 3000 labourers were required each for the Kargil—Drass, Padam, Zanskar, Leh and Hundar road projects. Another 2500 labourers were required at Shyok and 1500 at Upshi and Nyoma in Ladakh. As many as 2300 labourers were required by the BRO in the Chamoli and Uttarkashi districts of Uttrakhand.
Another officer of BRO said that he has reopened the Lahaul (HP)—Kishtwar (J&K) road by deploying the local labour. Accumulation of snow as high as 15ft had to be cleared at many places to make the road motorable.
A project in-charge said that against the requirement of 3000 labourers he was managing the works by deploying around 1000 local labourers of Ladakh.
Ladakh has two major road links with rest of the country, Srinagar—Leh and Manali—Leh roads. The road length from Manali side would get reduced once the Rohtang tunnel is thrown open for vehicular traffic. The Srinagar—Leh highway was built in 1962, while the road from Himachal Pradesh was completed in 1973.
Need for round the year motorable roads leading to Ladakh was felt during the 1999 Indo-Pakistan war when the two roads that also lead to Kargil, which was the hotspot, were buried under thick snow. As a result of which aeroplanes were the only alternative to carry reinforcements and other requirements of troops fighting the war.