BRO submits proposal for longest road tunnel at Gurez

The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has submitted a Rs 9,000-crore proposal to the Centre for the construction of a road tunnel in the state that will connect strategically important Gurez town along the Line of Control to the rest of the Valley throughout the year.
“We have submitted a proposal to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways for the construction of an 18-km tunnel at the Razdhan Pass to connect Gurez with rest of the Valley throughout the year,” Chief Engineer, BRO, Brigadier AK Das said.
If approved, it will be longest road tunnel in the country and almost double the size of the present record holder Chenani-Nashri tunnel (9.2 km) — also in the state, which is expected to be completed later this year.
Gurez, a picturesque valley in Bandipora district, is located along the LoC and remains cut off from the rest of Kashmir during winter months due to heavy snowfall.
It is one of the many strategic areas of Kashmir — in terms of defence as well as energy security — as work is in progress on the Kishenganga Hydro-Electric Project there.
Gurez has also been used as an infiltration route by militants coming from the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Brigadier Das said a feasibility study had already been conducted for the tunnel and, if constructed, it would be of huge help not only to defence forces but also the civilian population of the area. “It will improve connectivity leading to development of the area,” he said. The BRO official said the organisation had also submitted a proposal for three more strategically important tunnels to be constructed in the Valley.
“These include a 6.5-km tunnel at Sadhna that will improve the connectivity with the Tangdhar area (along the LoC) in Kupwara district, another at Furkian (Keran sector) and a 3.5-km tunnel at Zamindar Gali (Macchil sector),” he said.
Brigadier Das said feasibility studies would be conducted on these three projects after the approval from the Union Ministry.
The Tangdhar, Keran and Macchil areas of Kupwara district fall along the Line of Control and also remain cut off from the rest of the state due to heavy snow during winter.
All-weather road connectivity with these areas, where Army has a significant presence, can improve the security situation as well as help the state government to exploit the tourism potential of these untapped areas.
Brigadier Das said there were several other projects that might be handed over to the BRO for execution. One of these projects connects Poonch in Jammu region to Uri in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district under the Bharat Mala programme launched by the Union Government.
He said the project envisaged connecting Poonch district to Uri town– both strategic towns as these fall along the LoC — while also providing connectivity to smaller village enroute.
At present, travel by road between Uri and Poonch, a distance of around 650 km, takes at least two days, but a direct road connection will reduce it to around one hour.
The aerial distance between these two towns is just 35 km. Brigadier Das said the maintenance of the Mughal Road was also likely to be handed over to the BRO, which would be looking after the Shopian-Peer Ki Gali stretch.
“Obviously, if the Mughal Road has to be an all-weather road, we need to construct a tunnel there,” he added.
The Mughal Road was opened in November 2009 for vehicular traffic after remaining closed for many decades due to security concerns. However, the road remains closed for almost five months due to heavy snowfall in the higher reaches the Pir Panjal range. — PTI