PANAJI: Director General Border Roads (DGBR) Lt Gen Rajeev Chaudhry received the Guinness World Records certificate on November 16, 2021 for the achievement of Border Roads Organisation (BRO) of constructing and black-topping the world’s highest motorable road at 19,024 feet at Umlingla Pass in Ladakh. In a virtual ceremony, official adjudicator of the Guinness World Records based in the United Kingdom, Rishi Nath acknowledged the remarkable achievement of BRO for constructing the highest altitude road in the world. In a four-month long process undertaken by the Guinness World Records, five different surveyors verified the claim, states a press release by the Ministry of Defence.
The 52-kilometre long Chisumle to Demchok tarmac road passes through the 19,024 feet high Umlingla Pass and betters the previous record of a road in Bolivia, which connects volcano Uturuncu at 18,953 feet. The Umlingla Pass road is another landmark in resurgent India’s achievement as it has been constructed at an altitude higher than the North and South Base Camps of Mount Everest which are at an altitude of 16,900 feet and 17,598 feet respectively.
On the occasion, DGBR Lt Gen Rajeev Chaudhry spoke about the challenges faced during the road construction to Umlingla Pass, which he said, tested both the human spirit and efficacy of machines in an extremely tough terrain where temperatures in winters dip to -40 degrees and oxygen levels are 50 percent below normal.
The BRO provided a black-topped road to the important village of Demchok in Eastern Ladakh that will be a boon to the local population of the region as it will enhance the socio-economic conditions and promote tourism in Ladakh.
The strategically important road, which is approximately 15 kilometres long, highlights the focus of the Government in developing road infrastructure in border areas.
