Prime Minister Modi’s big gift to Jammu and Kashmir UT

Prime Minister Modi’s big gift to Jammu and Kashmir UT

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to inaugurate the Banihal-Qazigund tunnel in Jammu and Kashmir, along the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway, physically or virtually.

According to sources, the date of inauguration of the tunnel, by the Prime Minister is likely to be finalised next week. However, considering the Covid-19 pandemic guidelines, a decision is yet to be taken whether the inauguration of the tunnel would be physically or virtually by him.

 

Union Minister for Road Transport and National Highways Nitin Gadkari and Union Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) Dr Jitendra Singh in whose constituency the tunnel starts will accompany the Prime Minister during inauguration of the tunnel.

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“An engineering marvel. The 8.4 kilometer Banihal-Qazigund state-of-the-art tunnel is all set to be dedicated to the public. This will provide all-weather connectivity to the commuters across the region,” Dr Jitendra Singh’s tweet read

The Banihal-Qazigund tunnel is 8.5 kilometres long. The work started in 2011 and now the tunnel will reduce the distance between Banihal to Qazigund by 16 km.

A trial run of vehicular traffic through the double tube four lane tunnel was carried out for two hours on Wednesday. A senior traffic police official informed that one hundred vehicles were allowed to use the tunnel from Banihal towards Qazigund.

 

The tunnel has been made on Build, Operate, and Transfer (BOT) basis. Some of the equipment highlights used inside the tunnel includes 124 jet fans, 234 CCTV modern cameras, and a firefighting system.