4 months ago
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The Indian Army’s Engineer Task Force has successfully constructed the 3rd Bailey Bridge, measuring 120 feet, astatine KM 15 connected the B-492 Highway successful Sri Lanka.
The bridge, located successful the Central Province, reconnects the Kandy and Nuwara Eliya districts, restoring a captious lifeline that had remained disrupted for implicit a period pursuing the devastation caused by Cyclone Ditwah.
Taking to societal media X, the Indian Army posted, “The Indian Army’s Engineer Task Force, aft successfully launching 2 captious Bailey bridges successful the Jaffna and Kandy regions, has constructed the 3rd Bailey Bridge of magnitude 120 feet astatine KM 15 connected the B-492 Highway successful Sri Lanka’s Central Province.”
“Linking the Kandy and Nuwara Eliya districts, the span volition reconstruct a captious lifeline which was chopped disconnected for implicit a period successful the aftermath of Cyclone Ditwah. This effort reaffirms India’s steadfast committedness to Sri Lanka and the Neighbourhood First policy,” the station read.
This accomplishment follows the earlier palmy motorboat of 2 Bailey bridges successful the Jaffna and Kandy regions. Collectively, these engineering efforts person restored roadworthy connectivity, improved entree to indispensable services, and provided much-needed alleviation to communities affected by the cyclone.
Cyclone Ditwah, which struck Sri Lanka precocious past year, triggered wide flooding, landslides, and large-scale infrastructure damage, overwhelming section disaster-response mechanisms.
Operation Sagar Bandhu, launched successful November 2025, enabled India to supply urgent Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR), including restoration of roads, bridges, and indispensable services. By swiftly reestablishing connectivity on the B-492, the Indian Army has not lone facilitated regular beingness for affected communities but besides strengthened bilateral ties and goodwill betwixt India and Sri Lanka.
This effort reaffirms India’s steadfast committedness to Sri Lanka and the Neighbourhood First policy.
Under its ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy, Government is committed to processing affable and mutually beneficial relations with each its neighbours.
India is an progressive improvement spouse and is progressive successful respective projects successful the pursuing countries - Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka. India’s argumentation of ‘Neighbourhood First’ focuses connected creating mutually beneficial, people-oriented, determination frameworks for stableness and prosperity. India’s engagement with these countries is based connected a consultative, non-reciprocal and outcome-oriented approach, which focuses connected delivering benefits similar greater connectivity, improved infrastructure, stronger improvement practice successful assorted sectors area, information and broader people-to-people contacts.
Strengthening India’s ties with Sri Lanka, earlier, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla met Sri Lanka Parliament Speaker Jagath Wickramaratne connected the sidelines of the 28th Conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers of the Commonwealth (CSPOC) held successful New Delhi.
They discussed adjacent parliamentary practice and recalled the time-tested bonds of friendship, communal support, and shared antiauthoritarian traditions betwixt India and Sri Lanka. The 2 leaders besides discussed deeper engagement successful technology-driven parliamentary innovation.
“Recalled our earlier interactions and the strong, time-tested bonds betwixt India and Sri Lanka, rooted successful adjacent friendship, communal support, and shared antiauthoritarian traditions. Our discussions highlighted adjacent Parliament-to-Parliament cooperation, including regular exchanges, enactment of relationship groups, and collaboration successful argumentation and programme design,” Om Birla said successful a station connected X.
“We discussed deeper engagement successful technology-driven parliamentary innovation, including AI-enabled systems, real-time multilingual translation, and capableness gathering done PRIDE. Hoped that the beardown people-to-people connect, taste linkages including Bodh Gaya arsenic a shared pilgrimage centre, and continued parliamentary dialog volition further fortify India-Sri Lanka relations successful the years ahead,” helium added.
