Dantak, also known as Project DANTAK, is an overseas project of the

Border Roads Organisation The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) is a road construction executive force in India that provides support to and is now a part of the Indian Armed Forces. BRO develops and maintains road networks in India's border areas and friendly neighboring ...

under the

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in state ...

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

. Project DANTAK was established on 24 April 1961 as a result of an agreement between

Jigme Dorji Wangchuck Jigme Dorji Wangchuck ( dz, འབྲུག་རྒྱལ་པོ་ འཇིགས་མེད་རྡོ་རྗེ་དབང་ཕྱུག་མཆོག་, ; 2 May 1928 – 21 July 1972) was the 3rd Druk Gyalpo of Bhutan. He began ...

, the third king of

Bhutan Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountai ...

and then

Prime Minister of India The prime minister of India ( IAST: ) is the head of government of the Republic of India. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and their chosen Council of Ministers, despite the president of India being the nominal head of th ...

Jawahar Lal Nehru Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat— * * * * and author who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20t ...

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge ...

T.V. Jaganathan was appointed as the first Chief Engineer of DANTAK. The project is involved in identifying the most important aspects of connectivity and in spurring the socio-economic development and growth of Bhutan, It is tasked to construct and maintain roads suitable for motorised transportation in Bhutan. and was established under the provision of the Indo-Bhutan Treaty of Peace and Friendship, 1949.

Works and involvement

The project also constructs infrastructure in adjoining Indian districts, some of the important ones include Sherbathang–Nathu La road, Gangtok–Sherbathang road and Sevoke–Gangtok road. The medical and education facilities established by DANTAK in outlying areas were the first in those regions. The Takthi Canteen, commonly known as the DANTAK canteen midway between Phuentsholing and Thimphu is a major stop for travelers. The project recruits local workers from Bhutan as well as Indian workers from adjoining districts like

Jaigaon Jaigaon is a census town in Alipurduar subdivision under Kalchini Block of Alipurduar district in the state of West Bengal, India. It is located on the country's border with Bhutan, and ''Bhutan Gate'' separates the two countries. Phuentsholing ...

Alipurduar Alipurduar is a city and a municipality in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Alipurduar district. Situated on the east bank of Kaljani River on the foothills of the Himalayas, the city is a gateway to Bhutan and n ...

and other parts of

Eastern Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai *Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 * Eastern Air L ...

and North-Eastern India under a basic monthly wage. It posts officials from India for the supervision of work.

Controversies and incidents

Tricolour themed reflectors

The

Bhutanese Government The Government of Bhutan has been a constitutional monarchy since 18 July 2008. The King of Bhutan is the head of state. The executive power is exercised by the Lhengye Zhungtshog, or council of ministers, headed by the Prime Minister. Legislat ...

said that DANTAK has installed Indian tricolour themed

raised pavement marker A raised pavement marker is a safety device used on roads. These devices are usually made with plastic, ceramic, thermoplastic paint, glass or occasionally metal, and come in a variety of shapes and colors. Raised reflective markers, such as ...

or reflectors on the highway railings. After DANTAK confirmed their presence, those reflectors were immediately replaced. Later, the Chief Engineer of DANTAK stated that no

tricolour A tricolour () or tricolor () is a type of flag or banner design with a triband design which originated in the 16th century as a symbol of republicanism, liberty, or revolution. The flags of France, Italy, Romania, Mexico, and Ireland were ...

themed reflectors were sanctioned to be installed and ground labourers had installed those reflectors enthusiastically.

Wangchhu bridge collapse

A 204 metres long bridge in Haa along the Damchu-Haa road collapsed in February 2021, leaving 3 workers dead and 6 missing. The bridge was pending load testing when the incident happened. The bridge was handed over to Project DANTAK by the contractor. Rescue operations were initiated but were soon ceased due to low visibility and risk from the fragile structures.

Major works

References

{{reflist Bhutan–India relations Bhutan–India border