It Will Change Kashmir’, Says Gadkari on Longest Tunnel in Asia

Sonmarg: The ongoing construction of tunnels along the Zoji La Pass will finally realise the dream of connecting people from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, said Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari.

The minister, on a two-day visit to the Union Territory, reviewed various developmental projects across the region on Monday, including at Sonamarg. The minister, accompanied by J&K Lt Governor Manoj Sinha and members of the Parliamentary Consultative Committee on Road Transport and Highways, reviewed the progress on the key tunnels of Zoji La and Z-Morh in the region.

“With the development of the Zoji La tunnel, we aim to achieve all-weather hassle-free connectivity between Kashmir to Kanyakumari. The 38% of the work has been completed and we are hoping to inaugurate the projects partly by October,” Gadkari said.

The minister added that the work on Z-Morh tunnel, being constructed at the cost of Rs 3500 crore near the Gagangeer area, will also be ready by October this year.

Hailing the construction of the over 13 km tunnel – expected to be the longest in Asia – Gadkari said that the work on the tunnels has been carried in harshest weather conditions which included work at under minus 25 degree Celsius. The tunnels are aimed at establishing all-weather connectivity for Ladakh, which remains cut off for nearly six months in winter.

The minister added that during the Kargil War – which broke out in 1999 – former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee visualised the need for the all-weather connectivity road for Ladakh.

Gadkari asserted that the connectivity will further increase tourism in Kashmir by two to three times. “I have requested the LG administration to plan resorts and adventure sports here and people will be coming here along the Amarnath Yatra that will boost tourism and help eradicate poverty. It can become better than Switzerland,” he said.

Currently, the time to cross the hostile Zoji La Pass takes around three to four hours, which will be reduced to only 20 minutes after the completion of this tunnel. Over a dozen tunnels are being constructed across the Union Territory.

The Zoji La Tunnel is being built by the Hyderabad-based Megha Engineering and Infrastructures Ltd (MEIL). The tunnel is 9.5 m wide, 7.57 m high and 13.145 km long; a two-lane road tunnel that passes under the difficult and ragged Himalayan terrain of Zoji La pass in Ganderbal district and Drass town in the Kargil district of Ladakh.

The construction of the strategic tunnel is believed to end by 2024 for defence use against the official project deadline of 2026. The project, according to builders, comprises the smart tunnel (SCADA) system constructed using the New Austrian tunnelling method and equipped with CCTV, radio control, uninterrupted power supply, and ventilation. The Project consists of two small tunnels, Nilgrar 1 and Nilgrar 2, which have already been completed.

The minister, during his visit, expressed his gratitude to the workforce for the construction work despite harsh climatic conditions and geological challenges. The work on the project was earlier suspended for over a month after two MEIL workers were buried in snow due to an avalanche that struck near the Sarbal working site.

Gadkari also listed several developmental work projects being carried out in the region and said these are expected to change the region in the coming years. He said the government is developing three corridors at the cost of Rs 16,000 crore between Jammu and Srinagar, which include a Jammu-Udhampur-Ramban-Banihal-Srinagar road link.

“In Srinagar, we have taken up the construction of a 78-km long four-lane Ring Road worth Rs 4,607 crore between Galander and Ganderbal. It will help people in North Kashmir’s Baramulla, Kupwara, Bandipora and Gurez, Kargil or Leh to bypass the Srinagar city during travel,” the minister said during a presser at Srinagar.