Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the commencement of work on Zojila Tunnel on the Srinagar-Leh National Highway at an event in Jive-tsal in Leh and will also lay foundation stone of Srinagar Ring Road and Jammu Ring Road in separate events on Saturday.

Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways, Shipping, Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation, Nitin Gadkari will also be present at the events.

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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 Narendra Modi, had approved the construction, operation and maintenance of this 2-lane bi-directional tunnel with Parallel Escape (Egress) tunnel between Baltal and Minamarg on the Srinagar-Leh section of NH-1A at a total cost of Rs 6,800 crore earlier this year.

The tunnel will also cut down the time taken to cross the Zojila pass from 3.5 hours to just 15 minutes, besides making the drive much safer and convenient, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways said in a statement.

The construction of this tunnel will provide an all-weather connectivity between Srinagar, Kargil and Leh.

This route remains snow-bound for a large part of the year, and is ravaged by frequent avalanches. As a result, road connection to places in the Laddakh region stands disrupted for long periods, preventing even essential supplies from reaching people, shutting down businesses, affecting healthcare and education.

The tunnel will bring relief to the people of this region by providing all weather connectivity. It will also cut down the time taken to cross the Zojila pass from the present 3.5 hours to just 15 minutes, besides making the drive much safer and convenient.

The Zojila tunnel has been planned as a smart tunnel. It will have latest safety features like fully transverse ventilation system, Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS), Tunnel Emergency Lighting, CCTV Monitoring, Variable Message Signs (VMS), Traffic Logging Equipment, Over Height Vehicle Detection, Tunnel Radio System.

It will have pedestrian cross passages at every 250 meter and motorable cross passages and lay-bys at every 750 meter. It will have emergency telephones and fire-fighting cabinets at every 125 meter.

PM Modi will also lay the foundation stone for Srinagar Ring Road and Jammu Ring Road at separate events at Sher-e-Kashmir International Conference Centre (SKICC), Srinagar and at General Zorawar Singh Auditorium in Jammu the same day.

The Ring Roads and Srinagar and Jammu are aimed at reducing traffic congestion at these cities and making road travel safer, faster, more convenient and more environment friendly.

The 42.1 km, 4-lane Srinagar Ring Road will link Galandar in West Srinagar to Sumbal. Being built at a cost of Rs 1,860 crore, this road will provide a new route from Srinagar to Kargil and Leh, and reduce travel time. There will be a major bridge, three flyovers, 23 tunnels and 2 via-ducts on this route.

The 58.25 km, 4-lane Jammu Ring Road, being built at a cost of Rs 2,023.87 crore, will link Jagati (western Jammu ) to Raya Morh. There will be 8 large bridges, 6 flyovers, 2 tunnels and 4 via ducts on this route.