Prime Minister Narendra Modi made his first visit to Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) on Friday since a conflict with arch-rival Pakistan, opening a strategic railway line to the contested region.
Modi launched a string of projects worth billions of dollars for the occupied Muslim-majority territory, the centre of bitter rivalry between Pakistan and India since their independence from British rule in 1947.
Nuclear-armed India and Pakistan fought a four-day conflict last month, their worst standoff since 1999, before a ceasefire was agreed on May 10.
“Friends, today’s event is a grand festival of India’s unity and firm resolve,” Modi said after striding across the soaring bridge to formally launch it for rail traffic.
“This is a symbol and celebration of rising India,” he said of the Chenab Bridge which connects two mountains.
New Delhi calls the Chenab span the “world’s highest railway arch bridge”, sitting 359 metres (1,117 feet) above a river. While several road and pipeline bridges are higher, Guinness World Records confirmed that Chenab trumps the previous highest railway bridge, the Najiehe in China.