Sonamarg- Braving sub-zero temperature, thousands of people on Monday thronged this picturesque village in Jammu and Kashmir’s Ganderbal district to witness the inauguration of 6.5-km Z-Morh tunnel by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
They started assembling shortly after dawn at the venue of Modi’s public meeting to see the dream project of Sonamarg hill resort along Srinagar-Leh national highway becoming an all weather destination.
Union Ministers Nitin Gadkari and Jitendra Singh, Lt Governor Manoj Sinha and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah were among prominent persons in attendance.
This was Modi’s first visit to Jammu and Kashmir after the formation of Abdullah-led National Conference government in October last year.
Immediately after reaching here, Modi, clad in a hooded waterproof black jacket, cut the ribbon to inaugurate the tunnel, which was welcomed with thunderous applause and high-pitch sloganeering by the gathering.
The people had come to the venue from villages including Sonamarg, Kullan, Gagangir, Gund and Kangan.
The work on the Z-Morh tunnel began in May 2015. It took almost a decade to complete the project as the Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS), the initial concessionaire for executing the project, stopped work in 2018 due to financial stress.
The project was retendered in 2019 and awarded to APCO Infratech in January 2020, which had emerged as the lowest bidder.
The foundation stone for the Rs 2,716.90 crore project was laid in October 2012 by C P Joshi, then Minister for Surface Transport during the UPA II government, in the presence of his then cabinet colleague Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi.
The tunnel was initially expected to be completed by 2016-2017.
The visibly excited locals termed this new project as a path-breaker for the tourism industry, considered to be the backbone of Jammu and Kashmir’s economy.
“We are happy that this tunnel has been inaugurated by our prime minister. Now there will be 12-month connectivity with Sonmarg which will benefit the tourism sector in a big way. Everybody will benefit from this tunnel,” Haji Wazir Mohammad, a resident of Kangan, told PTI.
He said this is the first time that Modi has visited the area and “we are very happy about it.”
“Earlier, we used to walk by foot from Gagangir to Sonmarg,” he said.
Chipping in, his neighbour Noor Ahmad Kasana also expressed his joy over the inauguration of the Z-Morh tunnel, now renamed as Sonamarg Tunnel.
He said his joy tripled after hearing that none other than Prime Minister Modi was going to inaugurate the tunnel.
“You can see the crowd. We are so happy. We have been preparing for this event for the past two days. We celebrated in our homes,” Kasana said.
“We have been here since 6 am in this harsh weather, eagerly waiting to see PM Modi inaugurate this tunnel,” he said, just before the opening of the tunnel.
Praising Modi for rapid development of the Union Territory, Kasana who runs a sledge business said the Z-Morh tunnel will boost tourism and provide more employment avenues to the local youth.
“This tunnel is a big boost to locals here. Sonamarg used to remain cut off for three to four months annually owing to heavy snowfall but the inauguration of the tunnel will boost our business and will further increase tourist footfall, providing us an opportunity to earn more for our families,” he said.
Situated at an altitude of over 8,650 feet above sea level, the tunnel will enhance all-weather connectivity between Srinagar and Sonamarg, bypassing landslide and avalanche routes and ensuring safer and uninterrupted access to the strategically critical Ladakh region.
Riyaz Ahmad, another local, said that he reached the venue early in the morning to witness the historic day.
“We are very happy…this place used to be covered with snow for six months during winters and we would remain cut off from Sonamarg but now it will change. More tourists are going to visit here. We thank the prime minister for this gift,” he said with a broad smile on his face.
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