Sporting a parka to brave the freezing temperatures of Kashmir, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday inaugurated the Z-Morh tunnel in Jammu and Kashmir’s Sonamarg area. 

During the inauguration, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari and Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha were also present. 

Standing in an open, floorless jeep, Prime Minister Modi travelled through the 6.5 km long dimly lit tunnel and interacted with the officials and workers. 

Later, addressing a gathering, Modi said that today another long-standing demand of the people of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh was fulfilled. 

“This is Modi and he keeps his promise. There is a right time for everything and the right things will happen at the right time”, said the Prime Minister, seemingly referring to the demand of restoration of statehood sought by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah during his address on the occasion.  

The Prime Minister visited the Valley for the first time since last year’s Assembly elections, which were held after a decade-long hiatus.

Seamless connectivity

Modi said that the tunnel would ensure a seamless connectivity with the Sonamarg and boost tourism. 

“This tunnel will also make life easier for the people of Kargil and Leh”, said the Prime Minister.  

He said that Jammu and Kashmir was emerging as a hub of infrastructure with the construction of tunnels, bridges and ropeways. 

“In the coming days, many new road and railway projects will be completed in Jammu and Kashmir”, said the Prime Minister.  

The Prime Minister billed the development of infrastructure in Jammu and Kashmir as Naya Kashmir (new Kashmir). 

He said that Kashmir had regained its lost designation as ‘heaven on the earth’. 

Modi said that in the last 10 years the government constructed more than 4 crore pucca houses for the poor including the people of Jammu and Kashmir. 

“In the coming days, 3 crore more new houses will be provided to the poor”, Modi said. 

The tunnel 

Located at an altitude of 8500 feet above the sea level, the tunnel will provide year-round connectivity between Srinagar and the famous tourist destination of Sonamarg by circumventing treacherous roads often blocked by landslides and avalanches. 

The ₹2700 crore strategic Sonamarg tunnel project extending 12 kilometers in total, includes an egress tunnel, roads, bridges and the 6.4-kilometer Z-Morh tunnel, now renamed the Sonamarg tunnel, will connect the Valley with Ladakh.

In October 2024, terrorists shot dead a local doctor and five construction workers near the tunnel in an attempt to stymie the strategic project. 

Published on January 13, 2025