The Union ministry for roads and transport has set the ball rolling for construction of the 6.5-km Sadhna Pass tunnel that would provide Karnah, a far-flung area near the Line of Control in Kupwara district, all-weather connectivity with rest of the state.
A top official of the Border Roads Organisation said the ministry will be inviting tenders from consultancies for providing feasibility and technicality for the tunnel and approach roads.
“The tender was uploaded on the official website of the ministry a few days ago but it had to be taken down due to some technical issues. It will be uploaded again in a few days, which would officially mark the beginning of the process of the construction of this tunnel, which is also strategically important for movement of troops along the LoC,” he said.
He said the BRO had proposed a 6.5-km (approx) tunnel at the Sadhna Pass, which will reduce journey between Karnah and Kupwara from three hours to one-and-a-half hour. The construction process was initiated after defence ministry’s green signal.
Its construction has been a long-pending demand of the residents of this area. The 75-km long Kupwara-Karnah road, passing through high mountains, is maintained by Beacon.
During heavy snowfall and avalanche warning, army restricts movement of vehicles only up to Chowkibal Cantonment Gate from Kupwara side and up to Nachiyan from Karnah side.
Earlier this year, 11 people were killed in a snow avalanche at the Sadhna top.
The road passes through Shamsbari Mountains, cutting deep gorges and ascending or descending steep precipices. Some stretches along the road are extremely hazardous and risky, especially the 35-km stretch from Drangyari (TP) to Khatora. About 20km of this stretch is highly vulnerable to avalanches and landslides.
Most of the road accidents occur near Khooni nallah, which is 2 km ahead of Sadhna pass. It has been observed that on an average two to four snow avalanches occur a day during snow and three to five landslides a day in winter and rainy seasons.