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What is the News?
The government is planning to complete the massive Zojila tunnel before Republic Day 2024.
About Zojila Tunnel
Zojila Tunnel is a 14.15 km long road tunnel under Zoji La pass. Once completed, it will be India’s longest road tunnel and Asia’s longest bidirectional tunnel.
This tunnel along with a 6.5 km long Z-Morh Tunnel will ensure year-long road connectivity between Srinagar and Kargil, which currently remains closed for about seven months due to heavy snowfall on the Zoji La pass.
Construction Agency: The Zojila Project is being executed by Megha Engineering & Infrastructure Ltd. (MEIL), and Gurgaon-based APCO Infra under the tender process conducted by National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd.(NHIDCL).
About Zojila Pass
Zoji La is a high mountain pass in the Himalayas in the Indian Union Territory of Ladakh.
The pass connects the Kashmir Valley to its west with the Dras and Suru valleys to its northeast and the Indus valley further east.
The National Highway 1 between Srinagar and Leh in the western section of the Himalayan mountain range traverses the pass.
Source: This post is based on the article “No Amarnath Yatra but highway construction work keeps Sonamarg abuzz” published in Business Standard on 30th Sep 2021.
