PM set to inaugurate Z-Morh tunnel in J&K

Srinagar, Jan 13 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to inaugurate on Monday the 6.5 km long Z-Morh tunnel in Ganderbal district of Jammu and Kashmir that will make the Sonamarg tourist resort accessible throughout the year.

The prime minister landed at the Srinagar airport at around 10.45 am and is on way to Sonamarg for the inauguration of the strategic tunnel that is important from the defence perspective as well, officials said.

Union Surface Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari reached Srinagar on Sunday for the function.

Modi will also be joined for the inauguration ceremony by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.

The two-lane bi-directional road tunnel between Gagangir and Sonamarg in Ganderbal district in central Kashmir has been built at a cost of over Rs 2,700 crore.

It is equipped with a parallel 7.5-metre-wide escape passage for emergencies.

Situated at an altitude of over 8,650 feet above sea level, the tunnel will enhance all-weather connectivity between Srinagar and Sonamarg en route to Leh, bypassing landslide and avalanche routes.

Modi, who is on his first visit to J-K post the conduct of the assembly elections in September-October last year, is scheduled to meet the construction workers who have worked meticulously amid harsh conditions in an acknowledgement of their contribution to this engineering feat.