A 14km tunnel project marred by political controversy has led to a delay in awarding the contract. The victims are the people of the region who get cut off in the winters. Strategically, Zoji-La holds vital importance: on the one hand is Pakistan and on the other, China. Will politicians back off?
SCARY HEIGHTS: The 12,000 ft Zoji-La Pass is a vital link between Srinagar and Ladakh, where winters are harsh and enemy threat looms forever. Tribune photos: Mohd Amin War
It is land-locked. Its high passes are smacked by bone-chilling cold winds, and when it snows, it is a dreadful whiteout, a blinding netherworld at 12,000 ft (3,530 meters). Zoji La is the fourth highest pass in the country. And it’s also a place where India feels being watched — on one hand is China, on the other, Pakistan. Beyond those passes lies Ladakh which remains cut off during winters. In the 30-km stretch from tourist resort of Sonamarg in Kashmir to Gumri near the Zojila Pass, it is the 10-km rocky passage that’s the toughest: there are steep ravines and vertical cliffs, prone to avalanches. Ladakh hasn’t had the comfort of road connectivity despite being a witness to murderous assaults of weather and India’s foes. A political row has denied it the title of South East Asia’s longest tunnel. Its strategic and socio-economic importance has failed to move our political bosses. Nearly two years after Centre’s clearance for the 14.08-km-long tunnel project in 2013, Congress leader Digvijaya Singh this year alleged corruption in Rs 10,050-crore Zojila tunnel contract. He alleged that there had been “violation of the established practices in the tendering procedures” as the contract was awarded to a single bidder. The Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, headed by Nitin Gadkari cancelled the contract awarded to IRB Infrastructure Developers and decided to rebid. To avoid further controversy, the Union Ministry has now entrusted the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation (NHIDCL), its fully owned company, with the task of undertaking and completing the tendering process.”We have invited global bids for civil works under the project. The last date for submission bids is September 28. We are hopeful that the tendering process will be over in the next couple of months and work will start soon,” said a NHIDCL official. “Unfortunately, the project has become the victim of politics. Till now, tendering process has not been completed and it is a grave discrimination against the region,” says Mohammad Haneefa Jan, Chief Executive Councillor (CEC) of Kargil Council.P T Kunzang, vice president of Ladakh Buddhist Association (LBA) says once constructed, the tunnel will enable all-weather connectivity from Srinagar to Kargil and Leh. “Ladakhis are keen to see the tunnel becoming a reality.” Srinagar-Kargil-Leh road traverses through two major mountain ranges. It first crosses through great Himalayas at Zoji La and then Zanskar mountain range at Fatula to enter Ladakh. Apart from its tough geography and topography, the mighty Zoji La Pass witnesses a maximum snow of around 5-6 meters every year and the temperature sometimes plummets to minus 28 to minus 25 degree Celsius.The proposed tunnel will pass through Zozila Pass which serves as the gateway to Ladakh region. The tunnel can be constructed in seven years with an estimated cost of Rs 10,050 crores. The project is part of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Rs 80,000-crore development package for J&K. The single tube bi-directional tunnel with a parallel egress tunnel will be built on Design-Build-Finance-Operate-Transfer (DBFOT) annuity basis. The all-weather road connectivity has always remained a major poll campaign issue in the Ladakh region as it severely faces the shortage of essential commodities and goods when the two highways to Ladakh remain closed in winters.
The tunnel facts
- Length:14.08-km(Sonamarg &Gumri in Kargil)
- Total cost:Rs 10,050 cr
- Construction time:7 years
The project
- The tunnel will be a single tube bi-directional passage with a parallel egress (to serve in emergency).
- It will be built on design-build-finance-operate-transfer (DBFOT) annuity basis.