In the post-1947 era, J&K state has suffered from a serious geographical isolation, which, inter alia, has significantly hampered its economic progress. One of the spin-offs of that isolation has been inter-regional mobility and freer exchange of goods and people. The re-opening of the Mughal Road and construction of Sinthan Pass Road, Wadwan-Kokernag Road and so on in recent years have significantly helped that isolation. The beginning of work on the 6.5 km long Z-Morh tunnel between Sonamarg and Gagangir has raised the hopes for all-weather connectivity between Kashmir and Ladakh regions. But this marks just the first step in the larger goal of connectivity between Kashmir and Ladakh regions. The second and the more critical step relates to the construction of the proposed 13 km long Zojila tunnel, which will ultimately help overcome the difficulties of travel through the current Zojila Pass on the Srinagar-Leh Road. Given the delays in the initiation of work on that tunnel, and the fact that the Z-Morh tunnel will be ready only in 2018, policy planners in New Delhi and Srinagar are expected to appreciate the urgency of an early completion. Originally approved under the Prime Minister’s Reconstruction Plan for J&K in 2005, work was expected to begin in August this year after several years of delay. But that hasn’t happened because of the delays in preparing the Detailed Project Report by the private consultancy firm engaged for the purpose. There are other sub-regions in the state that are craving for similar tunnels to end their decades of isolation. The people of Karnah, Gurez, Kishtwar, Bhaderwah Poonch-Rajouri, for instance, crave for similar tunnels so that their all-weather connectivity with the Valley mainland and the world beyond becomes a reality. This age of freer exchange of goods and people, economic progress cannot keep pace with the demands of the times if interconnectivity is hampered by geographical and political reasons. Morh tunnels marks a good step towards overcoming that handicap.

Lastupdate on : Fri, 5 Oct 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Fri, 5 Oct 2012 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Sat, 6 Oct 2012 00:00:00 IST