India resumes work on Asia’s longest tunnel in Jammu and Kashmir
India today resumed work on Asia's longest tunnel road in Jammu and Kashmir that would provide all-weather connectivity between mainland and strategically located areas bordering China and Pakistan.
The 14.5km Zojila Pass tunnel, located at a height of 3,000m, will provide all-weather connectivity between Srinagar valley and Leh (Ladakh plateau), currently one of the most dangerous stretches in the world to drive a vehicle on.
The Rs 10,643-crore project, first conceived in 2005, will provide safe connectivity between Srinagar, Dras and Kargil bordering Pakistan and Leh close to border with China.
These regions remain cut-off from the rest of India during winters due to heavy snowfall for about six months.
"A tunnel in Zozila will be of great importance to the defence of the country in view of the fact that massive military activities along our borders in Ladakh, Gilgit and Baltistan regions are taking place," an Indian official statement said.
The work on the tunnel restarted just a week after India launched 44 bridges with border areas along the entire stretch of the Himalayas from the west to the north east.
India and China have been locked in a military stand-off in Ladakh in the western Himalayas for the last six months.
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