BRO appoints first woman commanding officer for road project near China

The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has appointed Vaishali S Hiwase as the commanding officer to command a Road Construction Company (RCC) tasked to provide connectivity in a high-altitude area along the India-China border. With the appointment, Hiwase has become the first lady officer to take over as the commanding officer of the Road Construction Company that is responsible for providing connectivity of an India-China border road. BRO told the media that Hiwase, who hails from Wardha in Maharashtra, will discharge her duties in a challenging environment. With two air maintained detachments located at 10,000 ft and above, the alignment of road goes through some formidable passes and treacherous terrain of hard rock with vertical cliffs, the BRO said. The organisation said Vaishali, who has an M Tech degree, has already completed a demanding tenure in Kargil. In 2020, the BRO built key roads and tunnels in forward areas along the China border amidst the Covid-19 pandemic and the border standoff between India and China in the Ladakh sector. BRO is building strategic roads in Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim. It plans to complete all 61 strategic roads assigned to it along the China border by December 2022 to allow quicker mobilisation of troops and stores to forward areas. Image Source Also read: Plans to build 10 tunnels in Ladakh, Kashmir region Also read: BRO gets more power for strategic India-China border roads