What: Zojila Tunnel
Where: Leh
When: 19 May 2018
- The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi on May 19, 2018 unveiled a plaque to mark the commencement of work on the Zojila Tunnel in Leh. He was in the Leh to attend the Closing Ceremony of the Birth Centenary Celebration of the 19th Kushok Bakula Rinpoche. During this celebration he unveiled a plaque.
- The 14 km long Zojila tunnel will be India’s longest road tunnel and Asia’s longest bi-directional tunnel.
- The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by the Prime Minister, had approved the construction, operation and maintenance of this tunnel between Baltal and Minamarg, on the Srinagar-Leh section of NH-1A, at a total cost of Rs 6800 crore earlier this year.
- The construction of this tunnel will provide all-weather connectivity between Srinagar, Kargil and Leh.
- It will cut down the time taken to cross the Zojila pass from the present three and a half hours, to just fifteen minutes.
- It will lead to all-round economic and socio-cultural integration of these regions. It also has immense strategic importance.
- The Prime Minister also dedicated the Kishanganga Hydropower Station to the nation at a function in Srinagar on May 19, 2018. As per the PM, the 330 MW Kishanganga Hydropower project would go a long way in fulfilling the electricity requirements of the State.
- Kishanganga Power station (3x110MW) is located on Kishanganga River, a tributary of river Jhelum in Bandipora District of Jammu & Kashmir.
