Much against the wishes of the administration, the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) didn’t open the Z-Morh tunnel on a trial basis on Tuesday in wake of several safety technical parameters.
Earlier, District Development Commissioner Ganderbal Shyambir had claimed that the tourist resort Sonamarg will remain open in winter and the Z-Morh tunnel will also be opened on a trial basis from November 15 so that tourists can enjoy the snowy mountains of Sonamarg.
The National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) started work on a 6.5-kilometer-long Z-Morh tunnel in 2015 and its deadline expired in 2021. The tunnel starts from Gagangeer and culminates in Shutkadi, thus bypassing landslide-prone areas including Hung Point, Haji Kabar, and Kachhar Mode.
General Manager NHIDCL, Vijay Pandey said that 20 percent of work on the tunnel is still incomplete and they didn’t throw it open today though the administration wanted them to keep it open.
“The condition of the tunnel is not good yet but we can allow some limited vehicular movement if the administration persists and that too in case the landslide-prone area Hung Point is closed,” Pandey said.
He said there are some technical parameters and technically it is not possible to throw the tunnel open for the traffic at this point of time. “There are always some checks and balances. The tunnel safety team has already informed us that it is not safe to throw it open,” he added.
The current situation of the tunnel will definitely leave the Sonamarg hoteliers disappointed who had already offered a 30 percent discount to the visitors for the visit to Sonamarg during winter.
Despite the government’s assurance of keeping the Sonamarg tourist destination open during winter, the hoteliers have already been showing reluctance in taking take advance bookings from tourists.
Pandey said that the tunnel will be completed by December 2023. (KNT)
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