UpdateBot at 12:17, 27 April 2022

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{{Short description|Civil infrastructure project of the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) in Ladakh, northern India}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=March 2018}}

{{Infobox military unit
| unit_name = Himank
| image =
| caption =
| dates = 1968 - Present
| country = {{IND}}
| type = [[Army]], [[Engineering]]
| role = To construct and maintain motorable roads in Ladakh along the [[Line of Actual Control]]
| garrison = [[Leh]], [[Ladakh]], [[India]]
| garrison_label = Headquarters
| anniversaries = Raising Day: 05 December; BRO Day: 7 May
| motto = Shramena Sarvam Sadhyam
| website = bro.gov.in
| commander1 = Lt. Gen. Rajeev Chaudhary
| commander1_label = [[Director general|Director General]]
| commander2 = Brigadier Arvinder Singh<ref>{{Cite web|last=Ladakh|first=Union Territory|date=2021-04-17|title=Labour Management regarding|url=https://cdnbbsr.s3waas.gov.in/s395192c98732387165bf8e396c0f2dad2/uploads/2021/04/2021041847.pdf|url-status=live|access-date=2021-10-19|website=cdnbbsr.s3waas}}</ref>
| commander2_label = Chief Engineer
}}

'''Himank''', also styled '''Project HIMANK''', is a project of the [[Border Roads Organisation]] (BRO) in the [[Ladakh]] region of [[Kashmir|northernmost India]] that started in August 1985.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.bro.nic.in/indexmain.asp?lang=&projectid=39 |title=BRO site |access-date=6 September 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100812161135/http://www.bro.nic.in/indexmain.asp?lang=&projectid=39 |archive-date=12 August 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref> It is known for constructing some of world's highest motorable roads across the [[Khardung La]], [[Tanglang La]] and [[Chang La]] passes. [[Demchok, Ladakh#Transpoort|Umling la]] is the highest motorable road on Earth with height 5882 metres (19300 feet). It is responsible for constructing and maintaining motorable roads in [[Ladakh]], along the [[Line of Actual Control]]. Himank project ensures access to sensitive military areas including the world's highest battleground at the [[Siachen Glacier]] and [[Pangong Tso|Pangong Tso Lake]] (at 4420 metres or 14500 feet), whose waters span the [[de facto]] [[India China border|India-China border]]. Nicknamed "The Mountain Tamers", much of Himank's work is constrained to four months per year, as heavy snow and extreme cold make some roads inaccessible at other times. Between 1987 and 2002, at least 124 Himank personnel were killed while on duty in Ladakh, including five officers.<ref>[http://www.tribuneindia.com/2002/20021026/windows/main1.htm 2002 The Tribune article]</ref> Most of its manual labourers are from [[Bihar]] state, not Ladakh. They are nicknamed [[Dumka_district|Dumkas]] (earlier in the Bihar state and now in the [[Jharkhand]] state), where many of the original Himank workers were recruited.<ref name=him1>[http://www.tribuneindia.com/2002/20021026/windows/main1.htm Tribune article 2002]</ref>
[[File:Himank - Drive slow.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Drive Slow sign by Himank in the [[Nubra Valley]], [[Ladakh]], India.]]

==Historical landmarks==

* Himank constructed the world's highest 86 km motorable road in Ladakh region, between Chisumle and [[Demchok, Ladakh|Demchok]] villages,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.livemint.com/Politics/YpojBHOzLBVypMDOylGPXJ/BRO-builds-worlds-highest-motorable-road-in-Ladakh-at-1930.html|title=BRO builds world’s highest motorable road in Ladakh at 19300 feet}}</ref> passing through [[Umling La|Umlingla]] Top at a height of over 19300 feet.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/bro-builds-worlds-highest-motorable-road-in-ladakh/articleshow/61457883.cms|title=BRO builds world's highest motorable road in Ladakh}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bro.gov.in/WriteReadData/linkimages/9886029359-Landmark.pdf|title=Achievements of West Dte during the F/Y 2016-17}}</ref>
*Himank constructed the world's highest [[Bailey bridge]] at Khardung La, though this has been subsequently replaced by a causeway.
*Himank's opening of the [[Srinagar]]-to -[[Leh]] highway in May 1999 was a crucial factor in [[Operation Vijay (1999)|Operation Vijay]] allowing India to make a timely military response in the [[Kargil war]].
*The [[Sasoma–Saser La Road]] will be the "world's first glaciated motorable road" once completed.<ref>{{Cite web|date=18 November 2018|title=World’s First Galciated Motorable Road Being Laid in Ladakh by BRO Amid Extreme Weather Conditions|url=https://www.news18.com/news/india/worlds-first-galciated-motorable-road-being-laid-in-ladakh-amid-extreme-weather-conditions-by-bro-1942829.html|access-date=2020-06-09|website=CNN-News18|publisher=PTI}}</ref>

==Road signs==
Project HIMANK is known to post humorous road signs,<ref>This biker collects the amazing and funny road signs of Ladakh http://www.dnaindia.com/lifestyle/1884960/report-this-biker-collects-the-amazing-road-safety-signs-of-ladakh</ref> photos of which are the subject of the book ''Peep Peep Don't Sleep''.<ref>[https://www.amazon.com/Peep-Dont-Sleep-Ajay-Jain/dp/8190600729 Amazon review of Peep Peep Don't Sleep]</ref> Examples include:
<blockquote>
I'm curvacious, but please take me slowly. 
Better Mr. Late than Late Mr. 
Let your insurance policy mature before you. 
On the bend go slow friend 
Feel the curves / Do not test them 
Darling I like you / but not so fast 
Safety on road / is “safe tea” / at home 
After whisky / driving risky 
Don't Gossip Let Him Drive 
If you are married, divorce speed 
Don't be a Gama in the land of Lama. 
Way of worship may be different but GOD is One.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.project-himalaya.com/gallery-himank.html |title=Picture gallery HIMANK |access-date=8 September 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090720075138/http://www.project-himalaya.com/gallery-himank.html |archive-date=20 July 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
</blockquote>

Other Himank signboards, notably those in the [[Nubra Valley]], offer philosophical statements from those as disparate as singer [[Patti LaBelle#LaBelle as Philosopher|Patti LaBelle]], French author [[Jules Renard]], author [[Jimmy Buffett]] and early Zionist [[Jessie Sampter]].<ref>see photos</ref>

{{Gallery
|title=Himank signboards
|width=250
|height=200
|lines=1
|align=center
[[File:Peep, Peep - Don't Sleep. Sign in Ladakh. 2010.jpg|thumb|Peep, Peep - Don't Sleep. Sign in Ladakh]]
|File:Jules Renard quotation on Himank BRO sign board in the Nubra Valley, Ladakh, Northern India.JPG|[[Jules Renard]]
|File:Jessie Sampter quotation on Himank BRO sign board in the Nubra Valley, Ladakh, Northern India.JPG|[[Jessie Sampter]]
|File:Jimmy Buffett Himank BRO sign in Nubra Valley, Ladakh, Northern India.jpg|[[Jimmy Buffett]]
|File:Himank - God is One.jpg|"Way of worship may be different but GOD is One."
|File:After Whiskey Driving Risky. Jispa to Leh.jpg|Safety sign warning against [[drunk driving]]: "AFTER WHISKY / DRIVING RISKY"
|File:If Married Divorce Speed. Ladakh.jpg|Safety sign: "IF MARRIED, DIVORCE SPEED"
|File:Peep, Peep - Don't Sleep. Sign in Ladakh. 2010.jpg|Peep, Peep - Don't Sleep. [[Sign]] in [[Ladakh]]. 2010
}}

{{commons|Category:Himank road signs}}

==See also==
*[[Border Roads Organisation]]
*[[Burma-Shave]], also known for humorous road safety signs

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20100812161135/http://www.bro.nic.in/indexmain.asp?lang=&projectid=39 HIMANK page on the BRO website]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20090720075138/http://www.project-himalaya.com/gallery-himank.html Picture gallery HIMANK]
*[http://cxx2.com/fun/project-himank-roadsigns HIMANK road Signs]

{{Leh-Manali Highway}}

{{coord missing|Ladakh}}

[[Category:Government agencies established in 1985]]
[[Category:Transport in Ladakh]]
[[Category:1985 establishments in Jammu and Kashmir]]
[[Category:Border Roads Organisation]]

Himank - Revision history

UpdateBot at 12:17, 27 April 2022