New Delhi, 16 November: The Border Roads Organization (BRO) has been registered in the Guinness World Records for building the world’s highest motorable strategic road over the 19,024 feet high Umlingala Pass in eastern Ladakh.
Director General (DG) of Border Roads (DGBR) Lt Gen Rajeev Choudhary received the certificate from Rishinath, the official adjudicator of the United Kingdom-based Guinness World Records, in a virtual ceremony on Tuesday.
It is worth mentioning that the BRO has constructed the world’s highest motorable road near the Umlingla Pass in eastern Ladakh. BRO has made this road passing through Umlingala Pass at an altitude of more than 19 thousand 300 feet with coal tar. This road connects important cities of Chumar sector of Eastern Ladakh. The construction of this road will strengthen the social and economic situation in Eastern Ladakh as well as promote tourism in Ladakh.
Hereby, by constructing this road, BRO has broken the record of the highest road built in Bolivia, South America. Bolivia has built a road at an altitude of 18 thousand 935 feet to connect the volcano Uturunku to its country.
The BRO has been named in the Guinness World Records for building the world’s tallest motorable road and black topping. In a four-month long process of Guinness World Records, five different surveyors confirmed the BRO’s claim.
In a virtual ceremony for the achievement, Rishinath, the official adjudicator of the United Kingdom-based Guinness World Records, today handed over the Guinness World Records certificate to Lt Gen Rajeev Choudhary, Director General, Border Roads (DGBR). The height at which this road has been built is much higher than the Siachen Glacier. The height of the Siachen Glacier is 17,700 feet.
The road built across the Umlingala Pass in eastern Ladakh is another milestone in India’s achievement. This road has been constructed at a higher place than the base camps of Mount Everest. Mount Everest’s South Base Camp in Nepal is at an altitude of 17,598 feet while the North Base Camp in Tibet is at an altitude of 16,900 feet.
On this occasion, DGBR Lt Gen Rajeev Choudhary spoke about the challenges faced during the road construction for Umlingala Pass.
He said that building infrastructure at such high altitudes is challenging and extremely difficult in itself. In winter, the temperature here drops to minus 40 degrees and the oxygen level at this altitude is 50 percent compared to the plains.
The BRO has given a black-topped road to the important village of Demchok in Eastern Ladakh which will be a boon for the local population of the region as it will boost the socio-economic conditions in Ladakh and boost tourism. The strategically important road is about 15 km long, highlighting the government’s focus in developing road infrastructure in the border areas.
