Nitin Gadkari arrives in Kashmir for historic Zojila Tunnel breakthrough
BY WANI MAJID
SRINAGAR, June 9, 2026:- Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari arrived in Kashmir on Tuesday to witness the historic breakthrough of the strategically significant Zojila Tunnel. This milestone marks a major step forward for one of India’s most ambitious mountain infrastructure projects, which aims to establish a permanent connection between Kashmir and Ladakh.
The breakthrough event signifies the successful meeting of excavation works from opposite ends of the structure, bringing the project much closer to completion and all-weather operational connectivity.The 13.15-kilometer Zojila Tunnel is being constructed by Megha Engineering and Infrastructures Limited to provide year-round road access by completely bypassing the hazardous Zojila Pass.
This pass currently remains closed for several months every year due to heavy snowfall and extreme winter weather conditions. Once fully operational, the engineering marvel is expected to transform regional transportation by ensuring uninterrupted movement for civilians, tourists, essential supplies, and security forces while drastically reducing overall travel times.
Gadkari’s visit centers entirely on the breakthrough ceremony, which stands as one of the most critical construction milestones in modern tunnel engineering. The event marks the formal completion of a grueling excavation phase that required years of precise drilling through the challenging and unpredictable Himalayan terrain.
The infrastructure project is widely viewed as a strategic game-changer for Ladakh, a region that frequently faces severe winter isolation whenever the Srinagar-Leh highway shuts down.In addition to ending winter isolation, the completed tunnel will improve accessibility to remote border areas, stimulate tourism, facilitate local trade, and strengthen socio-economic integration between Kashmir and Ladakh.
This achievement aligns with the broader push by the central government to aggressively expand tunnel and highway infrastructure across Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh to guarantee reliable connectivity.
Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha formally received the Union Minister upon his arrival in Srinagar before the official proceeding to the tunnel site, which is expected to rank among the longest bi-directional road tunnels in Asia upon completion.