On Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his excitement about visiting Sonmarg in Kashmir for the opening of the Z-Morh tunnel on Monday. He said, “I am eagerly waiting to visit Sonmarg for the tunnel inauguration. This will bring great benefits for tourism and the local economy. I also loved seeing the aerial pictures and videos!”
His excitement was in response to Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who visited Sonmarg to check the preparations for the inauguration. Omar looked at the tunnel and thanked the engineers and workers for their hard work on this important project.
Omar Abdullah wrote on social media, “I visited Sonmarg to check preparations for PM Modi’s visit on Monday. The Z-Morh tunnel will allow tourists to visit Sonmarg all year round, and it will become a great ski resort. Locals won’t have to leave during the winter, and the travel time from Srinagar to Kargil and Leh will be shorter.”
PM Modi will arrive in Sonmarg on January 13 at 11:45 AM to open the Z-Morh tunnel and speak to the crowd. This 6.5-kilometer tunnel is located on the Srinagar-Leh highway in Ganderbal district and was built at a cost of ₹24 billion.
Thanks to heavy snowfall and cold winters, the road to Sonmarg often gets blocked, especially in areas that are at risk of avalanches. The Z-Morh tunnel is important for keeping the road open all year, which is essential for the tourism in the region. Work on the tunnel started in 2012, and while it was first managed by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) later took over the project.
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