New Delhi, Mar 24 (PTI) Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday launched a tourism portal that will facilitate online booking of guided tours to the road infrastructure projects of the Border Roads Organisation (BRO).

In the initial phase, only e-booking for a guided tour to Atal Tunnel, Rohtang, will be available through the portal, and soon infrastructure projects in Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh will be included under the initiative, the defence ministry said.

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The world's highest motorable road at Umling La Pass, state-of-the-art bi-lane Sela Tunnel and Nechiphu Tunnel are among the projects which will be included for online booking through the portal (https://marvels.bro.gov.in), it said.

In his address, Singh praised the BRO for constructing more than 60,000 kilometres of roads, 850 major bridges, 19 airstrips and four tunnels over the last six decades.

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"Earlier, infrastructure development in border areas was never a priority, fearing its misuse by our adversaries during trying times. We totally changed this approach," he said.

"Infrastructure development of any region is linked with the development of the nation as well as the global situation. With changing times, all areas move ahead in the path of development," Singh added.

The defence minister appreciated the efforts of the BRO in developing the portal and exuded confidence that it will go a long way in boosting tourism in far-flung areas.

He made special mention of the setting up of BRO Cafes at 75 places in far-flung areas, expressing confidence that these cafes will provide basic amenities to the travellers, promote tourism in remote areas and strengthen the local economy.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)