Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to next week inaugurate the 6.4km-long Z-Morh tunnel, where a militant attack killed seven people in October last year.
The attack failed to deter authorities from halting work on the tunnel and the government seems to be sending a message to militants by planning the inauguration by the Prime Minister.
A local doctor and six migrant workers were killed in the attack at Gagangir in Ganderbal on a camp housing workers of APCO Infratech, a private company hired for the tunnelling. It was the first major attack on a key infrastructure project in a long time.
The tunnel will provide all-weather connectivity between Srinagar and Sonamarg but the larger plan is to provide round-the-year connectivity to Ladakh through it and another larger 13.1km-long Zojila tunnel, which is slated for completion by December 2026. Heavy snowfall cuts Sonamarg and Ladakh from the rest of the country for some winter months.
Sources said the tunnel would be inaugurated on January 13. “The PM is expected to address officers and workers on the occasion,” a source said.
Union minister for road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari, Jammu and Kashmir lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha and chief minister Omar Abdullah will also attend the event.
Experts say the twin tunnels, planned by the Manmohan Singh-led Congress government in 2012, have a strategic significance, particularly in the wake of Chinese incursions in Ladakh. They will also help livelihoods in Kashmir and Ladakh.
Z-Morh refers to the Z-shaped road section near the construction site.
The area where the tunnel is being constructed is at an altitude of over 8,500 feet. It is prone to avalanches, which cuts off the road to Sonamarg during winter.
The tunnel was slated for completion by August 2023 but the delays pushed back its opening by 17 months.