Manali Leh
The existing Leh Manali Highway in Ladakh. Credit: Narender9.

India is working to construct a new road from Manali to Leh in an effort to keep the movement of troops and tanks hidden from the Pakistan and China fronts.

Once built, the road will save three to four hours journey time, allowing faster travel between the two destinations, ANI reported.

This will eliminate any scope for enemy armies or other adversaries to observe the movements of the Indian Army.

Sources told ANI that work on the project connecting Manali to Leh near Nimoo has commenced.

This will be the third link between the Union Territory (UT) and the rest of the country.

Over the last three years, India has been working on providing alternative connections to strategic locations, including Daulat Beg Oldi and other towns in the regions.

Manali and Leh will also be made accessible through the Nimu-Padam-Darcha axis.

The route will primarily be used for the transportation of heavy weaponry such as tanks and artillery guns, as well as for deploying troops from Zojila, which currently moved from Dras-Kargil axis to Leh.

The news agency quoted undisclosed government sources as saying: “Agencies are working to provide alternative connectivity from Manali to Leh through Nimu-Padam-Darcha axis, which will help in saving a lot of time in comparison with the existing routes passing through Zojila pass from Srinagar and the other route from Manali to Leh through Sarchu.”

Furthermore, construction work on the world’s highest motorable road, Khardung La Pass, is underway.