Jammu-Srinagar travel time to be reduced to 4 hours: Nitin Gadkari

Arjun Sharma

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Jammu, April 11

There will be a four-fold rise in the footfall of tourists in Kashmir after the completion of the Delhi-Jammu-Srinagar highway, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari said on Tuesday. He inaugurated a tube of the 924-metre Kunfer tunnel connecting Peerah with Chanderkot in Ramban district, which will shorten the distance between Jammu and Srinagar.

Kunfer tunnel’s tube inaugurated

• Gadkari inaugurated a tube of the 924-metre Kunfer tunnel connecting Peerah with Chanderkot in Ramban district.
• He also conducted a breakthrough ceremony of Sitaram Passi-Marog tunnel through a controlled blast in the tunnel.

After the completion of the Jammu-Srinagar highway, the travel time from Srinagar to Jammu would reduce from 9-10 hours to 4-5 hours, he said. He said the four-laning of the 250-km Jammu-Srinagar highway was being built at the cost of Rs 16,000 crore. Out of this, four-laning of 210 km route has been completed, including 10 tunnels.

An official said the highway’s construction would be completed in 2025.

Gadkari also inspected the Banihal-Qazigund tunnel and several road projects in the UT. He also conducted a breakthrough ceremony of Sitaram Passi-Marog tunnel via virtual mode through a controlled blast in the tunnel.

In presence of Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and Union ministers Jitendra Singh and Gen VK Singh, Gadkari said that after the completion of the Delhi-Srinagar highway, the tourist arrival (in J&K) would increase over 4 times, boosting employment and resulting in a huge development.

Referring to the work on the highways, he said three roads were being constructed between Jammu and Srinagar. “…One of the five tunnels with a length of 45 km has been inaugurated today. The other three tunnels will be opened by next year,” he said.

Referring to the express highway, he said that a tunnel project had been given to TATA. “After completion, it will be a direct travel to Delhi from Katra in six hours. The travel time from Delhi to Srinagar will be eight hours,” he said.

Responding to the locals’ demands for employment, he said, “We are building a resort, where we can put handloom and handicrafts products of locals for display. It will give employment to 500 to 600 people”. He also said that 99 per cent of the tunnel staff had been employed locally. The Peerah-Chanderkot tunnel is a part of the ongoing four-laning of the 250-km Jammu-Srinagar highway, the only all-weather road linking Kashmir with the rest of the country. Gadkari, along with Union ministers Jitendra Singh, VK Singh and Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, also paid obeisance at the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine in Reasi. (With inputs)