Shadow Correspondent
Srinagar, july 21:
India’s highest airstrip, the Mudh-Nyoma airstrip in eastern Ladakh, is expected to be fully operational by October. The airstrip, situated close to India’s Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China, will help in augmenting national security and border connectivity in the high-altitude area.
Located at approximately 13,700 feet elevation, Nyoma is the closest Advanced Landing Ground (ALG) to the LAC. The airfield is now fitted with a state-of-the-art three-kilometre-long paved runway, capable of both emergency and strategic operations, even under harsh winter conditions when the temperature could be lower than minus 20 degrees Celsius.
Lt. Gen. Raghu Srinivasan, Director General, Border Roads Organisation (BRO), confirmed the development at a function in New Delhi on Sunday. “The plan is to complete the remaining work by October,” he added. He also noted that the development of infrastructure along the border in the next five years will facilitate deployment on all strategic stretches. “We’re now building roads to connect those posts,” he added.
Sanctioned in 2021 for Rs 214 crore, the Nyoma project has rapidly evolved from a small mud strip to a high-altitude strategic asset. The airfield, once operational, will facilitate faster deployment of troops, improved supply lines, and improved connectivity to forward areas, which are otherwise difficult to access due to terrain and weather-related limitations.
The importance of Nyoma has grown in the wake of the 2020 China border standoff that led to the emergence of a new emphasis on the establishment of border infrastructure. The air base will become the fourth major Indian Air Force base in Ladakh, in addition to Leh, Kargil, and Thoise. Leh is the principal operational base in the region, with Kargil and Thoise having strategic functions, with Thoise also providing access to the Siachen Glacier.
There is a mud airstrip around Daulat Beg Oldie (DBO), which is also near the LAC, that is used for special operations mostly. Other airstrips at Fukche, Chushul, etc., are just two to three kilometres from the LAC but are not that reliable and strategically well-planned owing to infrastructure constraints.
While the main aim of Nyoma ALG is defence, Ladakh officials explain that the airfield could be used for different purposes. “This kind of high-altitude airfield can also be used for civilian flights and improve regional connectivity,” one official said on the condition of anonymity.
