REASI, Jammu and Kashmir—Soon the world’s highest railway bridge will open in India’s northernmost state, connecting the Himalayan area of Jammu and Kashmir with the remainder of the nation—75 years after independence.

Until now, there was just one treacherous highway, National Highway 44, that related the remoted Kashmir Valley with the remainder of India. The railway hyperlink, nevertheless, is taken into account a game-changer that can deliver financial prosperity to the area and provides Indian troops year-round overland entry to the valley in addition to the Chinese border area past it—areas that in any other case stay lower off for a lot of the winter.

In the absence of dependable floor transport, crossing the rugged terrain of Kashmir in winter was a frightening job for Indian troops. On many events, convoys of Indian troopers have been stranded on the freeway after inclement climate precipitated landslides. Moreover, the opening of a rail hyperlink would scale back the federal government’s expenditures, as transporting logistics to the Indian Army can be less expensive compared to the aerial route, which is at the moment the one possibility obtainable in winter.

However, relatively than being a “symbol of prosperity”—as envisioned by the Indian authorities—many Kashmiris are skeptical in regards to the goal of the bridge’s building given the disputed standing of Kashmir between India and Pakistan.

Kashmir, which is without doubt one of the most militarized locations on this planet, is the main focus of a United Nations-recognized territorial dispute between India and Pakistan. In 1947, when India was divided alongside spiritual strains after the British withdrew from the nation, Kashmir was separated into two components, with India controlling roughly 55 p.c of the full land whereas Pakistan held 30 p.c and China managed the remaining 15 p.c from the northeast facet of the Ladakh area.

Today, Kashmiris worry that the railway bridge may present a straightforward hall for New Delhi to exert management over their land by sending extra troops and navy tools each time it chooses to.

An Indian engineer provides directions to a cable crane operator on the building web site for the Chenab railway bridge in northern Jammu and Kashmir on March 4, 2015.rakesh bakshi/AFP by way of Getty Images

Constructed on the whopping price of 14.86 billion Indian rupees (round $182.4 million), the rail bridge is part of the 69-mile Banihal-Katra railway hyperlink within the Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir. The almost 1-mile-long bridge, which is being constructed at a top of virtually 1,200 ft, is round 114 ft taller than the Eiffel Tower. Once accomplished, will probably be the tallest rail bridge on this planet.

The bridge is being constructed by Mumbai-based infrastructure agency Afcons Infrastructure and Konkan Railway Corporation.

Rashmi Ranjan Mallick, deputy chief engineer of the mission, informed Foreign Policy that constructing the bridge was the hardest job Konkan Railway has ever carried out, and it took round 2,200 individuals to finish the duty.

“Building the bridge was the most difficult mission. We had to face a lot of hurdles in terms of the harsh climate and topography,” Mallick stated.

Mallick stated the bridge weighs about 30,000 metric tons (or round 66 million kilos).

“The hardest part is done. Currently, we are laying the railway tracks to connect the bridge with the nearest stations,” he added.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed the completion of the ultimate arch of the bridge final yr. On Twitter, Modi wrote: “Indians’ capability and confidence are today presenting an example to the world. This construction work not only shows India’s increasing strength in modern engineering and technology but also is an example of the country’s changed work culture.”

The apprehension of Kashmiris elevated after August 2019, when the Modi authorities unilaterally stripped the state of Jammu and Kashmir of its autonomous status and introduced it instantly underneath the central authorities’s management. In the previous three-and-a-half years, New Delhi has applied a number of proposals, together with the settlement of non-Kashmiris within the valley, which many individuals see as an effort to rework India’s solely Muslim-dominated area into one with a Hindu majority.

According to one of many new legal guidelines, anybody who has resided in Kashmir for 15 years or has studied within the territory for seven years and has handed sure examinations will get residency rights and change into eligible for presidency jobs.

Since the brand new legal guidelines got here into impact, some Kashmiris are actually drawing parallels between Kashmir and Palestine, fearing that India is replicating what they name the “Israeli model of occupation” by bringing Hindus from different states of India to settle within the valley.

Anuradha Bhasin, government editor of a neighborhood English newspaper in Kashmir and creator of A Dismantled State: The Untold Story of Kashmir After Article 370, argues that the brand new legal guidelines applied in Kashmir present “a pathway … for replicating the Israeli model of occupation and colonisation of the West Bank in Kashmir towards disempowerment and dispossession of the locals, particularly Kashmiri Muslims, to exercise hegemonic control through new settlers.”

Fearful of shedding their homeland, Kashmiris have a tendency to not see the railway hyperlink in isolation. There is a basic notion that as a substitute of bringing financial prosperity to the area, India is prioritizing the railway hyperlink so will probably be straightforward for its military to have all-weather connectivity with Kashmir, which, Kashmiris imagine, is a component of a bigger effort to completely remodel the area’s demographics.

For the Indian navy, dealing with an ongoing border dispute with China that has flared lately in jap Ladakh, in search of environment friendly land connectivity with the area is important to produce arms and ammunition to each Ladakh—close to the Chinese border—and the valley.

Retired Maj. Gen. S.P. Sinha informed Foreign Policy that the bridge holds “great strategic significance” for the mobility of Indian troops and artillery from the remainder of India to Kashmir and the Ladakh area.

“Road connectivity has always been an issue for the army to travel to Kashmir during winters. Once the railway starts, it will be more convenient for the Indian troops to commute to Kashmir and Ladakh,” Sinha stated.

Apart from taking all the security measures frequent to bridges, similar to constructing for earthquake-proofing and wind resistance, the development firms have additionally ready for militant assaults, making certain that the pillars of the bridge are usually not weak to explosions. The pillars are product of particular thick, blast-proof metal and might take in TNT blasts. “Given the significance of this bridge, we are leaving no loose ends. We have built the bridge keeping in mind all the aspects, including its strength to withstand any blast,” Mallick stated.

Sinha added that having all-weather connectivity to the northern area would show detrimental for what he known as “Pakistan-sponsored cross-border terrorism in Kashmir,” including, “Having 365 days of connectivity with the valley will be a big advantage for us to face any threat from the neighboring country.”

China can be changing into a serious concern. In addition to engaged on the railway mission, the Indian authorities can be speeding to finish one other vital mission—the Zoji La tunnel close to snowbound Sonmarg in central Kashmir. The roughly 8-mile-long, two-lane tunnel would offer all-weather connectivity between Kashmir and Ladakh close to India’s border with China.

Sinha, who served in Ladakh throughout his tenure within the military, stated the Zoji La tunnel is as vital because the railway mission due to China’s presence on the disputed border.

“The railway will connect Jammu with Kashmir, and the tunnel will connect Kashmir with Ladakh. So both the projects have tremendous significance to see defense forces moving up to China in the north,” he stated.

A goat is seen at a viewpoint overlooking the brand new Chenab bridge in northern Jammu and Kashmir on Aug. 30, 2022. Aakash Hassan for Foreign Policy

Sinha stated aside from having extra journey choices, railway connectivity would additionally lower prices for the navy.

“During my service, we were using an IL-76 airplane for transporting logistics for the army in winters,” Sinha stated. “It was costlier than the supply we used to receive via road during summer season. So the railway connection will also save a lot of money to the government as well.”

Contrary to Sinha’s assertions, Sheikh Showkat Hussain, a political analyst and distinguished scholar of human rights and worldwide regulation, stated the brand new rail bridge is akin to the Banihal Qazigund Road Tunnel (the present nationwide freeway) that India constructed for year-round floor transport between 1954 and 1956 to get quick access into Kashmir from the remainder of India.

“Before the construction of the tunnel, India adopted a very mild approach towards the Kashmir dispute,” Hussain famous, explaining that India initially sought “to resolve the issue through U.N.-passed resolutions. But once the tunnel was constructed and they were able to move their army and artillery freely, their behavior changed.”

Hussain contends that after strengthening its grip over Kashmir and Ladakh after the opening of the Banihal Qazigund Road Tunnel, India violated all worldwide norms and declared Kashmir an “integral part” of its territory.

“I think the opening of the railway link is an extension of that grip that India holds over Kashmir and Ladakh,” he added. “And with the China-India faceoff at the Ladakh border at the pinnacle, the opening of the railway link will provide some relief for the Indian Army in terms of mobility.”

Other residents had been blunter: “[Kashmiris] know why the government of India has put so much effort and money into this railway project,” stated Irfan, a University of Kashmir pupil finding out political science, who wished to make use of solely his first identify, fearing reprisals. “They only want to provide a safe corridor for its army and people to come to Kashmir and ascertain its power over us.”

Indian staff clear a path on the bridge building web site overlooking the Chenab Valley in northern Jammu and Kashmir on July 5, 2014. PRAKASH SINGH/AFP by way of Getty Images

Rajinder Kumar—an assistant professor of psychology in Government General Zorawar Singh Memorial Degree College, Reasi—stated the bridge will contribute to the area’s financial improvement and assist present higher transportation accessibility.

“The railway project has given employment opportunities to many youth in the district while many people have opened shops near the site to earn their livelihood,” Kumar stated. “However, that being a hilly area, the construction of railway has disturbed the ecological balance in the district.”

Sunil Kumar, a neighborhood resident who works with Afcons Infrastructure as a designer on the mission, stated the realm is already turning right into a vacationer spot for the reason that completion of the bridge.

“People from across the country are visiting the place to see the highest railway bridge in the world. It has given a real boost to the tourism sector of Reasi,” stated Kumar, who has been related to the mission since 2015.

As the opening of the bridge approaches, the Jammu and Kashmir area stays divided. Although a lot of the inhabitants in Jammu sees the mission as a pathway to prosperity and there’s no doubt that the railway line may even present simpler transport hyperlinks for the individuals of Kashmir to journey outdoors the valley—particularly for apple growers to ferry their produce to massive Indian markets on time—many years of mistrust between Kashmir and New Delhi have left Kashmiris cynical about the true goal of this railway line. Rather than an engine of financial progress, they see the event as yet one more methodology for India to strengthen its management over the disputed area.