Gadkari reviews work of Zojila tunnel in J&K

 

 

UNION Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari along with a 13-member Parliamentary committee on Monday reviewed the construction work of the strategic Zojila tunnel, which will provide all-weather connectivity between Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. While terming the tunnel historic, the Minister said that the project is part of a dream to connect the Kashmir Valley with Kanyakumari. The Union Minister also announced that the Z-Morh tunnel, which connects Gagangir with Sonamarg and provides all-weather connectivity to the resort in the Ganderbal district of central Kashmir, will be inaugurated in October this year. “This is a historic and important tunnel in the history of India. The tunnel length is supposed to be the highest in Asia,” Gadkari told reporters after inspecting the work on the site at an altitude of over 11,500 feet.

The Union Minister led a 13-member delegation of the Parliamentary consultative committee on the Ministry.

The tunnel project – through the mighty Zojila Pass at an altitude of 11,578 feet on the Srinagar-Kargil-Leh National highway – is of strategic importance as the highway remains closed during winters due to heavy snowfall, cutting off the Ladakh region from Kashmir.

The single-tube Zojila tunnel – from Baltal, in the Ganderbal district of central Kashmir, to Minimarg, in Drass town of Kargil district of Ladakh, is 13 km long with an approach road of 18 km. Gadkari said the estimated cost of the project was Rs 12,000 crore but its cost was brought down by Rs 5,000 crore.