Kashmir-Kanyakumari road connectivity by April 2026: Gadkari

The government aims to establish seamless road connectivity between Kashmir and Kanyakumari by April next year, Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari announced in Hyderabad today while unveiling infrastructure projects worth over Rs 5,000 crore.

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“We often speak of Kashmir to Kanyakumari. By April next year, we will turn that vision into reality. I will urge Prime Minister Narendra Modi to travel by car from Rohtang in Himachal Pradesh to Kanyakumari in the south. By then, we will have completed the road network linking north and south India,” Gadkari said amid applause.

The ambitious plan involves connecting major corridors across the country, with the route starting from Himachal Pradesh’s Rohtang Pass. “We have constructed the Atal Tunnel that has reduced the travel time to Rohtang Pass. Beyond that, eight more tunnels are being built up to Leh in Ladakh, along with new roads. Below Kargil, work is underway on Asia’s largest 12-km Zojila tunnel, which is 75 per cent complete. The Z-Morh Tunnel, leading to Srinagar, has already been inaugurated by the PM. Between Srinagar and Jammu, 36 tunnels are under construction, of which 23 are complete,” he said.

Gadkari also highlighted the under-construction Katra-Amritsar-Delhi highway and its link to Gujarat’s Surat via the Delhi-Mumbai expressway.

“To facilitate southbound travel, a new expressway is being built from Surat to Nashik, Ahmednagar, Solapur, Kurnool, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kanyakumari, Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram,” he added.

The upcoming Surat-Solapur-Kurnool-Chennai highway includes 1,100 km within Telangana, with 53 per cent of the work already completed. “We are aiming to inaugurate this north-south highway by April next year,” he said.