Modi opens strategic tunnel to China border

Indian PM Modi inaugurates strategic Z-Morh tunnel, enhancing all-weather access to disputed border zones.

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SRINAGAR:

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated a strategic Himalayan road tunnel on Monday, pushing all-weather access northwards towards contested high-altitude border zones with rivals China and Pakistan.

The Z-Morh or Sonmarg tunnel, stretching 6.4 kilometres (four miles) beneath a treacherous mountain pass cut off by snow for between four to six months a year, is part of a wider infrastructure drive in border zones.

It helps connect IIOJK with Ladakh, acting as a stepping stone in opening the Srinagar-Leh Highway all year round.

"With the opening of the tunnel here, connectivity will significantly improve," Modi said, wrapped in a jacket from the freezing cold after cutting the ribbon on the $313 million project that has taken a decade to construct.

Another tunnel on the same route, the 13-kilometre (eight-mile) long Zojila tunnel, is more than halfway completed and slated to open in 2026, according to the information ministry.

The Z-Morh tunnel was the site of an attack in October in which gunmen killed seven workers in the Indian-Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir.