World’s longest highway tunnel above 16,000ft beneath 16,580ft high Shinku-la pass will be ready by 2025 that will provide Zanskar valley of Ladakh an all-weather connectivity, Border Roads Organisation (BRO) chief Lt Gen Rajeev Chaudhry said at Shinkula top.
After attending the Golden Handshake Ceremony on occasion of opening of Nimmu-Padum-Darcha road amidst fresh snowfall, and in the middle of 5 to 6ft high walls of snow, the director general border roads (DGBR) Chaudhary said this new road, which has now opened for traffic movement, will be officially opened for all kinds of vehicles as widening and blacktopping of the highway will be completed in three years along with completion of the 4.25 km-long Shinkula tunnel. He said formation cutting of the remaining stretch between Padum and Nimmu in Ladakh will also be completed soon. He said a new Road Construction Company (RCC) will be established in the area.
Chaudhary was quoted as saying: “The Shinkula pass tunnel will be 4.25 kilometer in length at altitude of about 16,000 foot. It will be the highest and longest tunnel at this altitude in the entire world. He said work on construction of the tunnel will start in July or August this year. The exercise to build the Nimmu-Darcha road had started 20 years back but the work faced many technical glitches. This new road is going to prove boon not only to the army but also it will bring positive revolution in the Zanskar valley of Ladakh.”
He said it used to take many days to travel from Zanskar to Himachal in the past but now the travel time has been reduced to only a few hours. He said the travel time will further be reduced after widening and blacktopping of the highway.
DGBR said the Yojak Project of BRO, which was formed last year from the Atal tunnel, has taken over the Nimmu-Padum-Darcha road from project Deepak and Vijayak. He said so far there is no plan to bring Keylong-Sarchu-Leh highway under Yojak, but another project may be formed to maintain this highway and to build the proposed highway tunnels.
It was for the first time that the DG of BRO reached Shinku-la after inspecting the under-construction Nimmu-Padum-Darcha highway. He was accompanied by many other top officials. A large number of residents from Zanskar valley had also reached the pass to attend the road opening ceremony. DGBR said Lahaul valley and Ladakh are the two difficult terrains under BRO jurisdiction where life was very difficult as both areas used to remain cut off from remaining world for six months in winter season. He said Atal tunnel has provided all-weather connectivity to Lahaul and has brought prosperity in the region. He said, people of Zanskar are going to witness a tremendous change, especially tourism boom, after the road is complete.
DG also honoured and appreciated the workers and machine operators working in the harsh weather conditions at such a high altitude region. He advised the local residents of Zanskar, who generally work as labourers for BRO, to carve their technical skills so that BRO prefers recruiting the local talents.
BRO is giving much attention to this new road which is safer than existing Srinagar-Leh and Manali-Leh highways as the road does not pass through close to the India-China or India-Pakistan border. The road also has only one major pass – Shinku-la which is also being bypassed by a new tunnel. While the tunnel will reduce travel time only by 6 to 7km, it will remain safe from the avalanches and heavy snowfall near the pass.
The entire 300km long Nimmu-Padum-Darcha road and Shinku-la tunnel will come under the jurisdiction of project Yojak. This road and the tunnel is an important project for the country. Shinkula pass tunnel tunnel, which will be 4.25km in length and will be built at altitude of about 16,000ft, will be the longest highway tunnel in the world at this altitude.
At first Ladakh was connected by only Srinagar-Zojila-Leh highway. It was the main trade route between Ladakh and Kashmir. The pressure kept growing on Zojila pass which used to remain cut off for six months following snowfall. Then BRO built the Manali-Leh highway. Now people, tourists and military have to move to Ladakh besides logistic supply. Then BRO started focusing on Manali-Leh highway to make it more operative.
BRO is also focusing on building more tunnels. The axis of the tunnel beneath Baralacha pass is too long. The Srinagar-Leh highway, which passes through Zojila and Kargil, is more used for trade, the Manali-Leh highway via Baralacha pass is used mostly for logistic supply. Now this third axis between Darcha (Himachal) and Nimmu (Leh) which passes through Shinkula and Zanskar valley will be more used by tourists as the route and the valley is extremely beautiful. The tunnel at 16,000ft altitude will be another attraction for tourists. This axis will bring prosperity to Zanskar valley. Whenever needed, according to BRO official, this road will be used by the Army.
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