By Aarya Krishnan
Leh, Sep 1: There are different types of roads in the world, high and low, long, and short. Have you ever wondered which road is most above the ground? No? Well, till now the record for world’s highest road was held by Bolivia for the road connecting to its volcano Uturuncu at 18,953 ft. However, India’s Border Roads Organization (BRO) has broken that record by constructing an even higher road at a height of 19,300 feet at Umling La Pass in Eastern Ladakh under Project Himank. The team was led by Himank Sharma of the 58 Engineer Regiment of the Indian Army, and the road was inaugurated by Ladakh Member of Parliament (MP) Jamyang Tsering Namgyal.
The road at Umling La Pass now connects the crucial towns in the Chumar sector of Eastern Ladakh. The road will reduce 41 kilometres of travel from Leh to Pangong Lake and hence is strategically important. It will also play a role in boosting the socio-economic status of people of the Lalok region.
The road is built at a greater height than the Mount Everest base camps, with the south base camp in Nepal being 17,598 feet and the north base camp in Tibet being 16,900 feet. The road is built at a considerably higher height than the Siachen Glacier, which stands at 17,700 feet. To put that into perspective, most big commercial airplanes travel at a height of 30,000 feet or more, so this road is more than half that. Wow! That sure is one high road, isn’t it?
