PM arrives in Leh, to inaugurate Zojila tunnel project

Leh, May 19: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday arrived in Jammu and Kashmir's Leh region, where he is scheduled to unveil a plaque to mark the commencement of work on the Zojila tunnel.
The Prime Minister is on a two day-visit to the state.

Accompanied by Minister of Road, Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari and other senior officer, Mr Modi was received at Leh airport by Governor N N Vohra, Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti and other civil and Army officers at 0900 hrs.

The Prime Minister will attend the commencement of work on Zojila Tunnel on the Srinagar-Leh National Highway at an event in Jive-tsal in Leh before flying to summer capital, Srinagar.

The 14-km-long Zojila tunnel will be India’s longest road tunnel and Asia’s longest bidirectional tunnel.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Mr Modi, had approved the construction, operation and maintenance of this two-lane bi-directional tunnel with Parallel Escape (Egress) tunnel between Baltal and Minamarg on the Srinagar-Leh section of NH-1A at a total cost of Rs 6,800 crore earlier this year.

The construction of this tunnel will provide all weather connectivity between Srinagar, Kargil and Leh. This route remains snow-bound for a large part of the year, and is ravaged by frequent avalanches. As a result, road connection to places in the Laddakh region stands disrupted for long periods, preventing even essential supplies from reaching people, shutting down businesses, affecting healthcare and education.

The tunnel will bring relief to the people of this region by providing all weather connectivity. It will also cut down the time taken to cross the Zojila pass from the present 3.5 hrs to just 15 minutes, besides making the drive much safer and convenient.
The construction of the tunnel is expected to bring about all round economic and socio-cultural integration of these regions. In addition to direct jobs generated during construction, it will also lead to massive indirect and spinoff jobs due to acceleration of economic growth. The government is committed to development of manpower skilled for tunnelling jobs in Jammu & Kashmir.

The project has strategic and socio-economic importance, and will be an instrument for the development of the economically backward districts in Jammu & Kashmir.

The Zojila tunnel has been planned as a smart tunnel. It will have latest safety features like fully transverse ventilation system, Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS), Tunnel Emergency Lighting, CCTV Monitoring, Variable Message Signs (VMS), Traffic Logging Equipment, Over Height Vehicle Detection and Tunnel Radio System.

It will have pedestrian cross passages at every 250 meter and motorable cross passages and lay-bys at every 750 meter. It will have emergency telephones and fire-fighting cabinets at every 125 meter.

'We want to receive the Prime Minister but he is not visiting us,' Kargil residents said.

Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi is scheduled to address a public meeting at Kargil.