There is good news for the tourists traveling in the valleys of Kashmir. Traveling in winter in the snowy plains of Kashmir will now become more accessible. Tourists will be able to enjoy Sonmarg along with Gulmarg in winter. With the partial opening of the Z Morh Tunnel, it will be easier to travel to Sonamarg during the winter season. Earlier, Sonamarg was wholly cut off from Srinagar due to heavy snowfall as well as avalanches. Due to this, tourists could not travel through Sonamarg during the winter season.
Brigadier (Retd) GS Ambo, Project Director of Z Tunnel and Zojila Tunnel on the main highway connecting Srinagar and Leh, has said that this tunnel was completed on September 24. Apart from this, the escape tunnel to be built with it was already completed in June. But right now, the work of the approach road connecting the Tunnel to the main highway is still going on. It is expected that it will be ready in 2022.
This Z Morh tunnel will be opened even though there is no approach road connecting the national highway. According to the project director, the government can open it for a few hours a day in consultation with the local administration.
Why is the Sonmarg closed in winter?
In winter, Gulmarg and Sonmarg are entirely covered by a thick blanket of snow. There is no connectivity with it, due to which it is completely isolated from the rest of the valley.
Along with heavy snowfall on the hills around here, avalanches are also common. Due to avalanches, passing through this route becomes quite dangerous. In this way, the entire Sonmarg is closed in winter. The people of the village and its surroundings have to leave their homes and go to a safe place in winter.
But now, the opening of Z Morh will get rid of all these problems. With the partial opening of Z Morh, the supply of all essential goods will be ensured by people. Apart from this, it will also be accessible for tourists to reach through this route. Two separate tunnels have been made to enter Z Morh so that the vehicles do not get inconvenienced.
The length of one of them is 435 meters, and the other is 1920 meters. Apart from these two, an escape tunnel has also been built to deal with any emergency. Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting and Youth and Sports Affairs Anurag Thakur has taken stock of the Z Morh and Zojila Tunnel project. Zojila Tunnel will now be able to connect all-weather Ladakh.
Importance of Tunnel
The importance of this Tunnel is very high for national security, development, and tourism. It has been designed keeping in mind the security and development of the border. This project can also prove to be very important for the economic development of Jammu and Kashmir. The tourism sector will get a boost in Sonmarg in winter, due to which the economic condition will also be vital. This Tunnel will help the Indian Army deliver essential goods that were almost closed in winter. Overall, we can say that the country can significantly benefit from the construction of the Z Morh tunnel.
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