India already has a lot to offer when it comes to cultural heritage and advanced medieval architecture. We have a lot of ancient buildings and monuments built with a lot of advancements by skilled artisans that are still seeing the light of today’s dawn while standing remarkably strong. India has maintained its reputation to date as we can see a lot of modern marvels attracting architects from worldwide. One of them is the Zojila tunnel. Once inaugurated, the Zojila tunnel will be the longest and the highest tunnel in India. It measures 14.4 km and is built at a height of 11,500 feet. Paving a way from Kashmir to Ladakh, this tunnel aims to connect the Kashmir valley with Ladakh, a snow-clad region isolated half the year cause of the snow. Let us dive deep and learn about this giant engineering marvel in detail.
1. Longest And Highest In The Country
Once inaugurated, the Zoujila tunnel will be named the longest and hight situated tunnel In India, measuring 14.4 km and situated 11,500 ft. above sea level. It is also going to be the longest tunnel in Asia.
2. The Year Of Approval
The government approved the tunnel in the year 2018, and prime minister Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated it. The construction was started in May 2018.
3. Work Status
Officially it is said that one out of four of them, a 6.5km long tunnel that will connect the resort town Sonmarg to the state during the winter for the first time ever.
4. Project Cost
Usually, the cost of building the tunnel was said to be ₹6,575.85 Cr by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highway. But considering the inflation as 5% per annum, the cost was announced as ₹8,308 Cr by National Highway & Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited.
5. Advance Construction Tunnel Technique
This modern marvel will be equipped with the latest features, namely a fully transverse ventilation system, uninterrupted power supply, CCTV monitoring, variable message signs, emergency lighting, traffic logging equipment, and tunnel radio system. All these additions indeed make the Zojila tunnel a one of its kind completely equipped tunnel in India.
6. The Company Working On It
Generally built as a time saver for those traveling to Jammu & Kashmir or Ladakh, the Zoujila tunnel is built by a Hyderabad-based company called Megha Engineering & Infrastructure Limited.
7. Time Saver
The Zoujila tunnel will help travelers as It will reduce travel time by 3 hours and 15 minutes and make the travel avalanche-free for those traveling from the Srinagar – Kargil – Leh section of NH1.
8. Importance Of The Tunnel Project
The immense importance of the Zoujila tunnel begins from its strategic importance to Ladakh as it shares defacto borders with Pakistan and China and is also dependent on air supply for about half the year.
9. Military Mobility
Ladakh will always be grateful to this tunnel project as it’s of immense importance as it provides much-needed operational and strategic mobility to military forces along with logistics flexibility as icing on the cake.
10. Contribute To Massive Military Activities
Ladakh has always been a warfare hotspot and one needs easily approachable military forces in such a place. Zoujila tunnel is going to be the first brick for modern Indian Architecture. It will also be of great help for the military activities that take place in Ladakh, Gilgit, and Baltistan region, hence leading to several advancements.
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