Srinagar (J&K): Union Minister of Road Transport and National Highways Nitin Gadkari inspected the 6.5 km long Z-Morh tunnel here on Monday. He reached Sonamarg along with Jammu and Kashmir Lt. Governor Manoj Sinha and members of Parliament. The Union minister visited the site of the Zojila tunnel and inspected the Z-Morh tunnel on the Srinagar-Leh highway.
With this, Sonamarg will become a tourist destination and will be an all-weather destination. The work on the 13 km long Zojila tunnel connecting Jammu and Kashmir to Ladakh is currently in full swing and will be opened to the public in the last quarter of 2026.
Harpal Singh, project head of the company Megha Engineering and Infrastructures Limited, which is constructing the Zojila Tunnel, while speaking exclusively to ETV Bharat, had said, "The tunnel will be opened to the public in the last quarter of 2026, but the section may be opened earlier for the local population and defense purposes."
During the inauguration, Gadkari addressed the MPs, who are part of the Parliamentary Consultative Committee of the Ministry of Roads and Highways (MORTH). The Union Minister also reviewed the progress of work on the National Highways and Roads in the Union Territory of Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir at a high-level meeting Monday. He also briefed the Parliamentary Consultative Committee members on the number of works of MORTH, including National Highways and major roads going on in the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
On April 11, Gadkari accompanied by the Union Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), Jitendra Singh will visit the Banihal-Ramban stretch of the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway and inspect the progress of the work. They will also inspect the site for construction of the Intermodal Station (IMS) at the holy town of Katra in the Reasi district and the Katra-Delhi Expressway in the afternoon. Gadkari will return to New Delhi in the afternoon of April 11.
