The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) restored the Darcha-Padum road via the Shinkula Pass, which sits at the altitude of 16,700 ft for the movement of the Indian Army vehicles between Lahaul in Himachal Pradesh and the Zanskar valley in Union Territory of Ladakh.
- BRO is planning to build a 4.25-km tunnel beneath the Shinkula Pass to provide round-the-year road connectivity to Ladakh from the Himachal side.
- It will be the world’s longest tunnel at such a high altitude.
- The Shinkula Pass receives heavy snowfall during winter every year, and the road connectivity to the Zanskar valley from the Lahaul side gets blocked for months.
- Therefore, the connectivity to Zanskar becomes a lifeline to people of the region and adjoining areas.
- The execution of the ongoing Darcha-Padum-Nimmu road project would get a boost after the newly created ‘Project Yojak’.
