JAMMU, Jan 13 (AP): India's prime minister marked Monday the opening of a tunnel in the northeast of disputed Kashmir that will grant all-year accessibility to a town that is isolated by heavy snow each winter.
The $932 million project includes a second tunnel and a series of bridges and high mountain roads that will link Kashmir with Ladakh, a cold desert region nestled between India, Pakistan and China that has faced territorial disputes for decades.
Amid high security, Narendra Modi visited the resort town of Sonamarg where he inaugurated the 6.5-kilometer (4-mile) tunnel. The town denotes the end of the conifer-clad mountains of the Kashmir Valley before Ladakh begins across the rocky Zojila mountain pass. The tunnel, named Z-Morh, will now grant it accessibility for the first time all year round.
The second tunnel, about 14 kilometers (9 miles) long, will bypass the challenging Zojila pass and connect Sonamarg with Ladakh and is expected to be completed in 2026.
Sonamarg and Ladakh have been plagued with severe snowfalls that close the mountain passes due to massive snowfalls, forcing them to remain cut off from neighboring towns for nearly six months every year.
Modi opens strategic tunnel in Kashmir to link Ladakh
FE Team | Published: January 13, 2025 21:27:09
Modi opens strategic tunnel in Kashmir to link Ladakh
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