India has revived an old caravan route as an alternative approach to reach the strategic Sub-Sector North in Ladakh comprising Daulat Beg Oldie (DBO), Depsang plains and Karakoram pass because of the potential Chinese threat to the 255-km long main axis connecting Leh with DBO — the world’s highest airfield.
The road passes through Sasoma, north of Leh, and climbs to Saser La at an altitude of nearly 17,800 ft before reaching Murgo where it connects the Durbuk-Shyok-DBO road that offers an all-weather connectivity between Leh and DBO.
Usable only in the summer, the alternative road starts at Sasoma near Thoise — the base camp for Siachen — and travels east to reach Saser La before coming down to Gapsam near Murgo where it connects the DSDBO road. It is largely a mud track on which jeeps can move.
The beginning and the final portion of the alignment can be accessed by jeeps, but there is a 27-km stretch between Saser La and Saser Brangsa (an ancient camping site) where trekking is the only option. The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) is working to improve that stretch.
However, the task is an arduous one because neither the terrain nor the weather is conducive. Work is possible only during the six months of summer as the temperature drops to minus 50 degrees Celsius in winter. For this stretch, the BRO got its first earth cutter only in 2016.
Since the DSDBO road runs almost parallel to the Line of Actual Control — the disputed boundary between India and China — at many places, it is vulnerable to threats from the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) troops.
The back-up alignment is not a new one. It was a mule and camel track that was being used in the ancient times when goods carrying caravans used to move from Leh to Kashgar (now in Xinjiang province).
The government agencies were working on this stretch of road for the last five years, but it assumed renewed significance in the wake of the five-month long Sino-Indian stand-off in eastern Ladakh during which PLA troops came into the Indian territory crossing the Line of Actual Control and blocked the Indian Army’s patrolling routes in the Depsang plains and on the northern banks of the Pangong Tso.
When the Leh-based 14 Corps was given the task of finding out a back-up to the DSDBO link, it sent one unit to check the condition of the road. The troops travelled from Sasoma to Saser La in vehicles and trekked subsequently. On route, they also found bones of camels that were earlier used in the caravan to ferry cargo.