The Z-Morh tunnel has been built at a height of over 8,500 feet in an area that is prone to avalanches during winter. The 6.5-km-long double lane tunnel with a parallel 7.5-meterwide escape tunnel for enhanced safety will connect Gagangir to Sonamarg. It is expected to facilitate military access to Ladakh between October and May when snow-blocked roads impede the movement of army vehicles.

This all-weather double lane tunnel will definitely help the military improve its logistics given that the Indian army is facing a powerful neighbour, China, which has been on a road and tunnel construction spree in eastern Ladakh. But we cannot overlook the fact that while this will prove to be an economic and tourist booster for Pahalgam and the scenic areas around it, the Z-Morh Tunnel remains an integral part of the much larger Zojila ( which means place of blizzards) Tunnel project whose completion will provide seamless connectivity to the armed forces between Srinagar and Ladakh.

The Zojila Tunnel is being constructed at an altitude of 12,000 feet and will connect Sonamarg, Drass and Kargil and Leh to the valley. Drass is the second coldest place on the planet and was the key base camp from where the Kargil war was waged apart from the Kaksar and Muskoh sectors. The Zojila Tunnel Project will involve the construction of a 13-km tunnel along with 17-km long approach roads.

The Minister of Road Transport Nitin Gadkari recently informed Parliament that the Zojila Tunnel Project was likely to be completed by 2026. While Prime Minister Modi spares no efforts to earn brownie points with his domestic audience, it must be remembered that Indian infrastructure and road construction in this difficult terrain lags far behind the Chinese achievements.

The Chinese had long back built the G219 (Akshai Chin) highway, which links the regions of Xinjiang with Tibet on the Aksai Chin; incidentally, the tunnel came up on land gifted to Beijing by Islamabad. The Chinese realised this sole highway was vulnerable to the Indian military and wasted no time in building an alternate route known as the G216.

In November, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV announced the opening of a new tunnel from Urumqi to Yuli County, both in Xinjiang, which they claim is the longest tunnel in the world. The Z-Morh Tunnel has had a long period of gestation having been first conceived in 2012 by the Border Roads Organisation. Its actual construction changed hands several times only to be taken over finally by the National Highways & Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited which, after completing the tendering process, handed over the construction to APCO Infratech.

Senior army officials who have served in this region are thankful that the project is finally complete; they believe it should have been completed a decade ago. They point out that the Zojila Tunnel Project should have also been completed by now. Said one retired army officer: ‘‘Zojila Pass is considered one of the most strategic passes in the world and is a lifeline for both the army and the people of Ladakh. Zojila, Drass and Kargil were captured by Pakistani soldiers in 1948 and it was the Indian army’s decision to move tanks in this tough terrain which surprised the Pakistani invaders and allowed the Indian army to wrest these key positions.”