Srinagar, Jan 08, ANB: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to inaugurate the crucial Z-Morh Tunnel in central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district on January 13.
According to the Associated News Bureau, the opening of Z-Morh tunnel will help to keep the vital Srinagar-Leh highway open across the year. The Z-Morh Tunnel, spanning 6.5 km will significantly reduce travel time along the Gagangir-Sonamarg stretch of the road that gets blocked by heavy snowfall and avalanches that hit the area every year.
The Z-Morh Tunnel is named after the Z-shaped stretch of road that the tunnel has replaced (Z-Morh translates to “Z-turn” in English).
The road used before was avalanche-prone and often got blocked for several months, but the Z-Morh tunnel provides all-weather connectivity to the Sonamarg tourist town. It takes only 15 minutes to travel the 6.5 km long tunnel compared to hours over the zig-zag road up and down the hills.
Together with the adjacent Zoji-La Tunnel, this geostrategically important tunnel on the Srinagar-Leh Highway will provide year-round weather-proof connectivity to Baltal (Amarnath cave), Kargil and other places in the Ladakh region.
The tunnel workers came under terror attack on October 20, 2024, when two terrorists entered the workers’ camp at Gagangir and fired indiscriminately. Seven civilians, including six non-local workers of the infrastructure company building the Z-Morh tunnel, were killed. A local doctor was also killed in the attack. (ANB)
