Srinagar, Oct 12 (IANS) Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday virtually inaugurated the Border Roads Organisation (BRO)-built bridge in Jammu & Kashmir’s border area of Gurez. A Defence Ministry statement said that the Raksha Mantri inaugurated BRO’s Kanzalwan Bridge in Gurez Valley of Bandipora district. “The Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated BRO’s newly constructed Kanzalwan Bridge in the Gurez Valley of North Kashmir’s Bandipora district via video conferencing on Saturday," read the statement. The event was attended by senior officials, including the Commander of the 109 Infantry Brigade, the Commanding Officer of the Rana Battalion in Bagtore and representatives from the BRO. The Gurez bridge is one of the 75 infrastructure projects of BRO, built at an outlay of Rs 2,236 crore, inaugurated by the Defence Minister on Saturday, from the Headquarters, Trishakti Corps in West Bengal's Sukna. These projects -- 22 roads, 51 bridges and two others -- are spread across 11 states/Union Territories, including 19 in Jammu & Kashmir, 18 in Arunachal Pradesh, 11 in Ladakh, nine in Uttarakhand, six in Sikkim, five in Himachal Pradesh, two each in West Bengal and Rajasthan, and one each in Nagaland, Mizoram and Andaman & Nicobar Islands. In his address on the occasion, Rajnath Singh termed the projects a testament to the government’s unwavering resolve to keep strengthening the border infrastructure and ensuring the socio-economic progress of these areas. He added that these projects will go a long way in enhancing the defence preparedness of the country. India will be one of the safest and strongest nations in the times to come, he said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of ‘Viksit Bharat by 2047’ can be realised through such infrastructure projects, he added. The Defence Minister also commended the grit and determination of the BRO personnel for completing the projects in a time-bound manner, even in the most challenging terrains and harsh weather conditions. Locals expressed gratitude to BRO saying that the bridge will have a positive impact on transportation and connectivity in the remote area. It must be mentioned that the BRO’s project BEACON was divided into Sampark and Himank which take care of strategic roads and highways, especially the Srinagar-Leh national highway that connects the cold desert Ladakh UT with the rest of the country. Another project called Vijayak was raised in September 2010. A Multi-million tunnel is being built across the Zojila Pass that will connect the Ladakh region with the rest of the country round the year as the present snowbound highway remains closed for four months. BRO also built the strategically important all-weather 298 km-long Nimmu-Padam-Darcha road. The road holds strategic importance due to its shorter distance compared to other routes. It provides all-weather connectivity to the Ladakh region. The Nimmu-Padam-Dorcha road crosses only one pass i.e. Shinkun La at an elevation of 16,558 feet where a tunnel has been built. /IANS