PM to visit Kashmir next week
Fayaz Bukhari
Srinagar, Jan 8: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is visiting Kashmir on January 13 to inaugurate the strategic Z-Morh tunnel on Srinagar-Leh National Highway to make Sonamarg an all-weather tourist destination.
Harpal Singh, General Manager at National Highway Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL), told Excelsior that the date for the inauguration of the Z-Morh tunnel has been finalised. He said that the PM will arrive here on January 13 to physically inaugurate the tunnel that will bypass the road from Gagangir to Sonamarg allowing visitors to visit Sonamarg throughout the year.
Follow the Daily Excelsior channel on WhatsApp
He said that the Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari, Lt Governor Manoj Sinha and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah will be present at the time of inauguration of the tunnel.
An official said that the Special Protection Group of Prime Minister’s security is arriving here tomorrow and will visit the venue of the inauguration. They will be stationed here till January 13.
The Chief Minister described the tunnel as a game changer for winter tourism. “J&K, especially central Kashmir, looks forward to the inauguration of a vital piece of infrastructure in the coming days. This asset will be a game changer for the expansion of winter tourism in the Valley,” he posted on X.
At present, the Gagangir-Sonamarg stretch of the road gets blocked by heavy snowfall and avalanches that hit the area every year. It makes the tourist resort of Sonamarg and adjoining areas inaccessible.
The Z-Morh Tunnel is a 6.5 km long 2-lane road tunnel between Gagangir and Sonamarg on Srinagar-Leh National Highway. The tunnel will provide all-weather connectivity to Sonamarg.
Together with the adjacent Zojila Tunnel, this strategically important tunnel on the Srinagar-Leh Highway will provide year-round connectivity to Baltal and Ladakh region.
It will also enhance military logistics and boost tourism and the economy.
Constructed at Rs 2400 crore, the tunnel project was awarded on build-operate-transfer (annuity) basis including construction, operation and maintenance of the tunnel. The developer has been awarded a maintenance period of 15 years from the completion date.
The tunnel is 10 meter wide with the 7.5 metre wide parallel escape tunnel to be used both in an emergency and as the railway tunnel.
The tunnel is designed for the flow of 1,000 vehicles an hour at an approved maximum speed of 80 km per hour.
The tunnel is located at an altitude of 8,652 ft.
The construction of the tunnel was started in 2018.
The tunnel workers came under attack on October 20 last year in which a local doctor and six migrant construction workers of the infrastructure company building the Z-Morh tunnel were killed.
Follow our WhatsApp channel
