Current Affairs

News
Dragons threat makes Sikkim suffer

KOLKATA: Nearly a week after the September 18 earthquake, Sikkim is still reeling under its aftermath because the desperately needed relief and rehabilitation operations have still not reached deep enough in this tiny hill state. Reason: The state lacks infrastructure, particularly airfields, which would have speeded up succor to the people of the state. And why have advanced landing grounds (ALGs) and roads not been developed in these parts? Because the mandarins sitting in faraway Delhi feared such infrastructure would help the Chinese over-run the region in the event of a repetition of the 1962 border conflict. Indeed, the Indian Air Force (IAF) is still finding it difficult to move men and equipment to the worst affected areas. According Eastern Air Command sources, the mobilization would have been faster had the IAF managed to land AN-32 or a similar large transport aircraft close to Mangan, Chungthang or Lachung. Delhi woke up from its slumber only recently to realize that infrastructure development is required in the Northeast. This shift from its Pakistan-centric approach has led to development of facilities in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. It may take some more time for infrastructure to be built in north or east Sikkim, said a state government source. The Union defence ministry was able to successfully reason that Sikkim should be left underdeveloped for strategic purposes. The fear was if China were to carry out a lightning strike across the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in north Sikkim, they would be able to take the entire state by using the infrastructure built by the Union or the state government. The philosophy was that should such a strike take place and Indian forces be compelled to fall back, the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) should not get access to infrastructure. For this would have helped PLA to consolidate its position and Gangtok and the remaining parts of the country, said the official. In reality, this was a ridiculous strategy. China is rapidly building infrastructure in Tibet Autonomous Region. Lack of infrastructure on our side wont deter the PLA from continuing its march towards mainland India. Indias strategy should have been to create infrastructure in Sikkim and create defences to prevent any Chinese attempt to annex the state. It is certainly a matter of concern that no ALGs exist in Sikkim. There are several of them even in high-altitude regions of Arunachal Pradesh where the terrain is not much better, said another state government official.

                                                                                                               
Back
Created by SaasVaap Techies pvt ltd