Srinagar
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Jammu and Kashmir on January 13 and inaugurate the Z-Morh tunnel on the Srinagar-Sonmarg road. All-weather connectivity will be ensured through the tunnel to Sonamarg. Official sources said that PM Modi will come here on January 13 and inaugurate the Z-Morh tunnel. This tunnel will bypass the road from Gagangir to Sonamarg, facilitating tourists and locals to visit the hill station throughout the year.
The Gagangir-Sonmarg section remains closed due to heavy snowfall and avalanches, which occur in the region every year. Z-Morh Tunnel is a 6.5 km long 2-lane road tunnel between Gagangir and Sonamarg in Ganderbal district of Jammu and Kashmir.
The road that was previously in use was affected by avalanches and was often closed for several months. But the Z-turn tunnel provides all-season connectivity to the Sonamarg tourist town. It takes only 15 minutes to cross this 6.5 kilometer long tunnel, whereas traveling through the zig-zag path up and down the hills would have taken hours.
Also, along with the nearby Joji-La Tunnel, this geo-strategically important tunnel on the Srinagar-Leh Highway will provide year-round weather-proof connectivity to Baltal (Amarnath Cave), Kargil and other places in the Ladakh region.
This will also increase military logistics and boost tourism and economy. Apart from providing all-season connectivity to Sonamarg, this tunnel will help in providing employment to the local youth and promote tourism and allied activities in the area.
It is one of the 31 road tunnels, of which 20 are in Jammu and Kashmir and 11 in Ladakh. Construction of the tunnel started in 2018. On 20 October 2024, there was a terrorist attack on tunnel workers. Two terrorists entered the workers’ camp in Gagangir and fired indiscriminately. Seven civilians, including six non-local workers of the infrastructure company building the Z-Morh tunnel, were killed in the attack. A local doctor was also killed in this attack.