In Pictures: India's extraordinary tunnel project in Kashmir
Indian workers are toiling away to complete four tunnels connecting the Kashmir valley to Ladakh, a contested border region between India and China.
Hundreds of people are working on an ambitious project to drill tunnels and construct bridges connecting the picturesque Kashmir Valley with the cold and rugged terrains of Ladakh, a region that remains isolated for every six months due to massive snowfall.
A strategically important place, Ladakh shares de facto borders with Pakistan and China. The region generally depends on air supplies for half the year.
Four tunnels are projected to connect these two regions and the first one, 6.5-kilometer long, is already complete and will make the resort town of Sonamarg accessible during the winter months for the first time.
Sonamarg marks the end of conifer-clad mountains before Ladakh begins across the rocky Zojila mountain pass.
The last tunnel of the $932 million project, about 14-kilometers-long, will bypass the challenging Zojila pass and connect Sonamarg with Ladakh.
After finishing, it will be the longest and highest tunnel at 3,485 meters in India.
“It’s not like any other construction work. It’s great learning,” said one of the workers, Tariq Ahmed Lone, as he helped at a drilling machine.
The Indian and Chinese army have been confronted in the Karakoram mountains in Ladakh for over 16 months along their de facto border, called the Line of Actual Control.
Both countries have stationed tens of thousands of soldiers there, backed by artillery, tanks and fighter jets.
According to Indian military planners, the tunnel project is extremely important for Ladakh thanks to providing logistics flexibility to the military and giving it operational and strategic mobility.
Politicians also see an opportunity in the project.
The Zojila part of the tunnel is to be functional in 2026, but India’s road transport and highways minister, Nitin Gadkari, said on a visit to the project site on Tuesday that he hopes the work will be finished before a 2024 general election.
“It’s a challenge I know, but I’m confident they can do it on time,” Gadkari said. “Obviously, we would want it to be finished before the elections.”