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

Border Roads Organisation The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) is a statutory body under the ownership of the Ministry of Defence of the Government of India. BRO develops and maintains road networks in India's border areas and friendly neighboring countries. This include ...

under the

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

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

Jigme Dorji Wangchuck Jigme Dorji Wangchuck (, ; 2 May 1928 – 21 July 1972) was the 3rd Druk Gyalpo of Bhutan. He began to open Bhutan to the outside world, began modernization, and took the first step towards democratization. Early life Jigme Dorji Wangchuck wa ...

, the third king of

Bhutan Bhutan, officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked country in South Asia, in the Eastern Himalayas between China to the north and northwest and India to the south and southeast. With a population of over 727,145 and a territory of , ...

and then

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Jawahar Lal Nehru Jawaharlal Nehru (14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat, and statesman who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20th century. Nehru was a prin ...

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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. Phuentsholin ...

Alipurduar Alipurduar (), is a city in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Alipurduar district and Alipurduar railway division of NFR. It is situated in the Western Dooars natural region, on the banks of Kaljani River in the ...

and other parts of

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and North-Eastern India under a basic monthly wage. It posts officials from India for the supervision of work. In 2022, Dantak resurfaced of the Phuentsholing-Thimphu Road with shredded plastic as part of a special campaign to conduct trials of using recycled plastic in road construction.

Controversies and incidents

Tricolour themed reflectors

The Bhutanese Government said that DANTAK has installed Indian tricolour themed

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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 triband is a vexillological style which consists of three stripes arranged to form a flag. These stripes may be two or three colours, and may be charged with an emblem in the middle stripe. Not all tribands are tricolour flags, which requires t ...

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 Border Roads Organisation