SOURCE: TNN
India and China continued with their military talks on Monday, which has already led to some troop disengagement in eastern Ladakh, even as 1,600 workers from Jharkhand are on their way to forward areas in the region to resume work on infrastructure projects of the Border Roads Organisation (BRO).
Sources said brigadier and colonel-level talks were held at two face-off sites of ‘Patrolling Points 14 and 17’ in the Galwan Valley region and Hot Springs area of eastern Ladakh on Monday. “The aim is to take forward the discussions on the proposed progressive disengagement in these areas,” said a source.
But the deadlock on the major troop confrontation on the north bank of Pangong Tso continues. People’s Liberation Army soldiers have blocked all Indian patrols going west to east from ‘Finger-4 to 8’ (mountainous spurs separated by a distance of 8 km) since early-May, as was earlier reported by TOI.
Army chief General M M Naravane had said on Saturday the ongoing military dialogue would hopefully resolve “all perceived differences” between India and China, while noting that troop disengagement had begun in a phased manner from the Galwan river area.Meanwhile, in a clear signal that India will resume its border infrastructure projects in Ladakh, the first lot of 1,600 workers from Jharkhand are now headed for Leh in truck convoys after their train reached J&K on Monday morning.
The Union government has requisitioned 11 trains to transport 11,815 workers from Jharkhand to border areas in Ladakh and J&K to work on different BRO projects in forward areas. The BRO’s main working season is from May to November every year, though it got slightly derailed this time due to the coronavirus pandemic. Though there were several factors at work behind the multiple PLA intrusions in early-May, China is also upset with India’s ongoing construction of feeder links and bridges to its new 255-km Darbuk-Shyok-Daulat Beg Oldie road, as reported by TOI earlier.
https://defencenewsofindia.com/india-china-talks-on-labourers-of-bro-head-for-forward-areas/
