What is the Zojila tunnel that's likely to bring Ladakh and Kashmir closer?

Major progress on the Zojila tunnel has been made since over 13 km of tunnel excavation has already been done. Union Minister Nitin Gadkari is expected to attend the breakthrough ceremony of the project. It is under development for an approximate expenditure of ₹6,500 crore- ₹6,800 crore. This entire venture aims to enhance connectivity between Kashmir and Ladakh throughout the year.

Zojila runnel marks a key infrastructure breakthrough in Himalayan connectivity

The Zojila tunnel is a part of the ambitious Zoji-la Tunnel project. It connects Sonmarg in Kashmir to Minamarg in Ladakh at an altitude of 11,578 feet. Once completed, it will be India’s longest road tunnel at 14.15 km and is expected to become Asia’s longest bi-directional tunnel. The project is scheduled for completion by 2028 after facing earlier delays. It is also part of a wider infrastructure push that includes 19 tunnels being built across the region at a total cost of around ₹25,000 crore.

So far, the digging operations have covered more than 13 kilometers and will be nearing their completion stage very soon. The Zojila tunnel project consists of a double tunnel, 5 bridges, and two snow tunnels. The tunnel will also be part of the development work of a 18.475 kilometer long highway that stretches from Z-Morh to Zoji-la, out of which 3 kilometers are being widened while the remaining kilometers are being constructed anew.

The Zojila tunnel has been designed to enable year-round connectivity in the area of the Zojila Pass region, which at present remains cut-off for almost five months in a year because of snow and avalanches. Currently, it takes more than 10 hours for one to travel from Srinagar to Leh. In winter, however, travel by road becomes impossible since there is no road connectivity, forcing people to travel by air, which costs more than ₹40,000 in peak season.

Traveling through the Zojila tunnel will prove much easier as well as safer for people. The journey from Baltal to Minamarg, which presently takes 40 kilometers of travel, will get reduced to 13 kilometers. Time saved from this travel will be around 90 minutes.

The officials believe that the tunnel will also help to cut down the number of accidents that regularly happen at the dangerous mountain pass. After its construction, it would make sure that there is rapid transit of people, materials, and even army supplies to Ladakh round the year.

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