The Border Roads Organisation will construct the world’s highest tunnel at Shinku La Pass at 16,7000 feet to connect Himachal Pradesh to Ladakh, BRO Director General Lieutenant General Rajeev Chaudhary said here on Saturday.

He stated this while opening the strategically important Himachal to Zanskar Road at Shinku La Pass from where over half a dozen vehicles crossed the Shinku La Pass from Zanskar side towards Manali.

However, civil traffic on Darcha-Padum road would be allowed after the approval of the district administration Lahaul and Spiti. It is noteworthy that the pass was restored 50 days earlier than the previous years, which will give major respite to 15 villages of Zanskar Valley.

The Director-General of BRO, Lt Gen Rajeev Chaudhary, visited the Shinkula Pass from Zanskar. He flagged off BRO vehicles from Shinkula to the Zanskar valley and congratulated its officials on achieving this feat in record time.

It is pertinent to note that, the Shinkula Pass receives heavy snowfall during winter every year, and the road connectivity to the Zanskar valley from the Lahaul side gets blocked for months. Therefore, the connectivity to Zanskar becomes a lifeline to people of the region and adjoining areas.

Lieutenant General Rajeev Chaudhary told PTI that the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) will start the construction of the tunnel connecting Himachal Pradesh to Zanskar Valley in Ladakh by July this year. He said the Centre has already made ‘Project Yojak’ of BRO to execute this ambitious project. This tunnel, to be completed by 2025, will change the economy of Zanskar Valley, the official added. At present, one has to travel 101 km from Manali to Darcha on Leh road and thereafter, take a turn from Darcha towards Shinku La Pass and enter Zanskar valley.

The south portal of the tunnel will be at Shinku La and the north portal at Lakhang, he added.

The D-G lauded the efforts of BRO personnel in resorting to the Shinku La-Padum road as well as Manali-Leh road in record time.

BRO’s Project Yojak

The execution of the ongoing Darcha-Padum-Nimmu road project would get a boost after the newly created ‘Project Yojak’, which is being spearheaded by Chief Engineer Jitender Parsad.

Notably, the road project would provide alternative connectivity to border areas of Ladakh from the Himachal side. Further, BRO is planning to build a 4.25-km tunnel beneath the Shinkula Pass to provide round-the-year road connectivity to Ladakh from the Himachal side.

“One Border Road Task Force with 2 RCC shall be stationed at Zanskar for the execution of the Darcha-Padum-Nimmu road and the construction of the tunnel beneath the pass, “ said Director-General of BRO, Lt Gen Rajeev Chaudhary.

He further added that it will be the world’s longest tunnel at such a high altitude. The local labor force will continue to get preference and will be paid a handsome salary.

The BRO has set a target to complete the construction of the Shinkula Pass tunnel by 2025, which would provide impetus to the tourism sector, benefiting local residents by connecting the Zanskar valley from the Himachal side.

Jitendra Prasad, Chief Engineer of Yojak Project, BRO, interacts with former MLA Ravi Thakur in Lahaul & Spiti. Tribune Photo

DG BRO Lt Gen Rajeev Chaudhary conferred with prestigious Vishwakarma Achievement Award

In March 2022, Director General of Border Roads Organisation (BRO) Lt Gen Rajeev Chaudhary was conferred with the prestigious 13th CIDC Vishwakarma Achievement Award 2022 for Public Officer (From Govt and Public Sector).

Lt Gen Rajeev Chaudhry has been spearheading BRO’s remarkable feats in the construction world and the most notable achievements being the successful construction of the ‘World’s Highest Motorable Road’ at Umling-La Pass at 1,9300 Feet and the ongoing construction of Sela Tunnel and Nechiphu Tunnel.

Further, BRO is building two important airfields, fencing works, and infrastructure development in Arunachal Pradesh besides strategic roads along the Indo-China, Indo-Pakistan & Indo-Myanmar Borders.

Manali’s Atal Tunnel officially termed as World’s Longest Highway tunnel above 10,000 Feet

BRO opens Zoji La Pass in record time

On March 19, 2022, Border Roads Organisation (BRO) opened the gateway between the Union Territories of Ladakh and Jammu & Kashmir – ‘Zoji La Pass’ on the Srinagar-Kargil-Leh road at 11,650 feet. This is the first time, BRO achieved the feat to open the pass in just 73 days of its closure this year.

The snow clearance operations were started on February 15, 2022, from both sides of the pass by Project Beacon and Vijayak, located in J&K and Ladakh respectively.

After sustained efforts, the connectivity across Zoji La Pass was initially established on March 04, 2022. Thereafter, efforts were made to improve the road conditions to create the safe passage of vehicles.

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without any modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)