JAMMU, India — India's prime minister marked Monday the opening of a tunnel in the northeast of disputed Kashmir that will grant all-year accessibility to a town that is isolated by heavy snow each winter.
The $932 million project includes a second tunnel and a series of bridges and high mountain roads that will link Kashmir with Ladakh, a cold desert region nestled between India, Pakistan and China that has faced territorial disputes for decades.
Amid high security, Narendra Modi visited the resort town of Sonamarg where he inaugurated the 6.5-kilometer (4-mile) tunnel. The town denotes the end of the conifer-clad mountains of the Kashmir Valley before Ladakh begins across the rocky Zojila mountain pass. The tunnel, named Z-Morh, will now grant it accessibility for the first time all year round.
The second tunnel, about 14 kilometers (9 miles) long, will bypass the challenging Zojila pass and connect Sonamarg with Ladakh and is expected to be completed in 2026.
Sonamarg and Ladakh have been plagued with severe snowfalls that close the mountain passes due to massive snowfalls, forcing them to remain cut off from neighboring towns for nearly six months every year.
Authorities on Monday deployed police and soldiers in the area and established multiple checkpoints at key intersections as an enhanced security measure for the prime minister's visit. Troops also stationed sharpshooters at several points and carried out drone surveillance to ensure constant vigilance.
Modi later at a public meeting, attended by hundreds of people in freezing weather, said the ambitious project would improve road connectivity and boost tourism in the region. The meeting also was attended by some of Modi's Cabinet ministers and Kashmir's chief minister Omar Abdullah.
Experts say the tunnel project is important to the military, which will gain significantly improved capabilities to operate in Ladakh while also providing civilians with freedom of movement year-round between the Kashmir Valley and Ladakh.
