6 Working On J&K’s Z-Morh Tunnel Killed In Ganderbal Terror Attack: Why The Infrastructure Project Matters

At a time when the work of the Z-Morh tunnel was almost complete, terrorists gunned down six migrant workers, employed by the infrastructure company carrying out the work, at their camp on Sunday.

The tunnel is important for the country as it offers an all-weather road between Srinagar and Sonamarg and seamless connectivity to Kargil, while reducing the travel time to Leh from the capital of the union territory. Once operational, it will offer round-the-year connectivity to Sonamarg from Srinagar and will bypass the avalanche-prone area near Gagangeer.

The existing road remains closed during the winters due to heavy snowfall and avalanches in the area. The new tunnel will also promote social and economic development in the region.

BEING BUILT AT Rs 2,700 CRORE

At least 19 tunnels are being constructed in Jammu and Kashmir at a cost of Rs 25,000 crore to ensure all-weather connectivity across the region. The work on the Z-Morh tunnel is part of this big project. The 6.5-km tunnel and approach road is being built at a cost of about Rs 2,700 crore.

According to the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH), the area of Z-Morh tunnel is strategically important as its construction will ensure seamless connectivity between Srinagar and Kargil and there will also be considerable reduction in travel time between Srinagar and Leh. Apart from tourists, the road will allow faster movement of forces to and from Ladakh.

Situated under the mountain glacier Thajiwas Glacier between Gagangir and Sonamarg in Ganderbal district of Kashmir, the Z-Morh tunnel is two-laned. The main tunnel is 10.8 meters with a modified horseshoe shape escape tunnel of total length of 7.5 meters. It has a D-shaped ventilation tunnel of total length of 8.3 meters and two major culverts of total length of 110 meters and 270 meters, one small culvert of total length of 30 meters is also proposed.

The name of the road is derived from its shape and will connect Sonamarg health resort with Kangan town in central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district – about 20 km from Srinagar. An Intelligent Traffic Management System has already been installed in the tunnel that will ease the traffic management. Traffic will be facilitated through the dedicated escape tunnel.

WORK STARTED IN 2012

In October 2012 the foundation stone of the project was laid by Omar Abdullah, then Chief Minister of the erstwhile state J&K, along with his father and then Union Cabinet Minister Farooq Abdullah. Rahul Gandhi, who was the Congress general secretary at that time, was also a part of the ceremony. The work, awarded to Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS), also started. However, it was abandoned after IL&FS Group faced a financial crisis.

The MoRTH again issued tenders. Finally, the work was awarded to APCO Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd in December 2019. The initial deadline was December 2023. That was missed. The project cost, in December 2019, was Rs 2,378.76 crore and it had to be completed in 3.5 years.

THE ATTACK

Omar Abdullah took charge of the newly formed union territory this month again after the elections were held in J&K for the first time since 2014.

“Very sad news of a dastardly and cowardly attack on non-local labourers at Gagangir in Sonamarg region. These people were working on a key infrastructure project in the area. Two have been killed & two-three more have been injured in this militant attack. I strongly condemn this attack on unarmed innocent people & send my condolences to their loved ones,” he posted on X.

Later, he also said the casualty figure from the Gagangir attack is not final as there are a number of injured labourers, both local & non-local.

Apart from six workers, a doctor was also killed in the gun attack at the tunnel-construction site on the Srinagar-Leh national highway. The attack took place when the tunnel workers returned to their camp late in the evening.