SHIMLA: Next time you wind up your ways on the border roads in Himalaya from Hanle and Pang in Ladakh to Sela Top in Arunachal Pradesh and Gwaldham in Uttarakhand, donot be surprised if you  bump into BRO’s smart one-stop cafes in these dizzying heights. These cafes proposed to offer you amenities that no other café so far provide you to break your “jet lag” in those bone-chilling climes.      

Ministry of Defence (MoD) has approved setting up of 75 BRO Cafes at 75 locations spreading in 12 States and Union Territories on different sections of roads  run by Border Roads Organisation (BRO).

BRO Cafes will provide amenities like parking for two and four wheelers, food plaza or  restaurant, separate rest rooms for men, women and differently abled, first aid facilities and MI Rooms. 

With these cafes in place, tourists willing to take next Yoga session at scenic Pangong lake, will get to see the BRO cafes in Ladakh sector, highest battle ground in the world.  

In Himachal Pradesh BRO has proposed seven cafes  at   Km 8.5,  Km .5,  Km 11.8,  Sissu in Lahaul,  Manali,  Kharo and Sumdo in Kinnaur  on the Powari-Kaurik highway bordering Indo-China.

In Uttarakhand, BRO will run its 11  cafés at Darkot, Km 61, Km 57.44, Bhaironghati, Birahi, Gwaldham, Pandukeshwar, Manera bypass, Nagni, Kamand, Majri Grant giving  tourists a new experience.

If the  tourists and adventures choose BRO highway in Jammu & Kashmir, they will get the wayside BRO amenities at as many as 12 locations-  at  Tee Pee, Tragbal, Hussaingaon, Km 95, Km 117.90, Km 58, Galhar, Siot, Bathuni, Budhal, Kapotha and Surankot.

Higher up in the cold climes  of Ladakh sector,  BRO will set up 14 cafés -  Matiyan, Kargil, Mulbek, Khaltse, Leh, Hunder, Choglamsar, Rumtse, Debring, Pang, Sarchu, Agham, Nyoma and Hanle.

The tourists  willing the explore Northeast BRO offers these smart cafes in Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim,  Manipur, Assam and Nagaland.

In Fact, it is Arunachal Pradesh where the visitors will  get the facilities at 20 places, the highest number of places on the highway.

These are at Daporijo, Bame, Koloriang, Pasighat, Menchuka, Moying, Thumbin, Yinkiong, Tippi, Durga Mandir, Km 79, Tenga, Rama Camp, SelaTop,  Tawang, Jengthu, Hayuliang, Wakro and Changwinti.

Assam will have two cafés at TezpurTown and BP Tinali and Sikkim, Manipur and Nagaland  will have BRO café one each at Kupup Dett, KM0  and Jakhama respectively.

Down in the plains, BRO has also proposed its cafés. The border state of Punjab will have BRO café at Fazilka.

Rajasthan will have cafes at Tanot Dett, KM 44.40, Sadhuwali Village, Birdhwal, Arjansar
in West Bengal, BRO will run café at Melli.

According to the Ministry of Defense, BRO  will run these cafes in partnership with locals on public private partnership to make at participatory enterprise for locals to ramp up economic activities in the remote locations.   

The terms of the agreement will be for 15 years which may be further extended for a period up to five years.

These cafes are intended to provide basic amenities & comfort to the tourists. This in turn will boost economic activities in border areas, generate employment for local people, said MoD officials.

BRO has its reach in the remotest border areas, addressing strategic needs of the country. BRO has been instrumental in socio-economic upliftment of the Northern and Eastern borders.

This has resulted in increased tourist influx in these scenic locations, which were out of bound for the visitors.

What prompted MoD is the need to  provide comfy transit of tourists on these roads located at harsh climatic and tough terrain.

As inaccessibility and remoteness of these roads preclude widespread commercial deployments, BRO by virtue of its presence there, took it upon itself to open such facilities at remote places, said the MoD officials.

According to the MoD, scheme provides for development and operation of wayside amenities in public private partnership mode with agencies, on license basis.

They will design, build and operate the facility as per guidelines of BRO. Selection of licencees will be done through a competitive process.