After inaugurating the Rs 2,700 crore project, the prime minister went inside the tunnel and interacted with the project officials. He also met the construction workers who worked meticulously amid harsh conditions to complete the tunnel.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi called Jammu and Kashmir, the `crown' of India. While addressing a rally gathering in Sonamarg after he inaugurated the strategically important Z-Morh tunnel, Modi said he wants "this crown to be beautiful and prosperous".
After inaugurating the Rs 2,700 crore project, the prime minister went inside the tunnel and interacted with the project officials. He also met the construction workers who worked meticulously amid harsh conditions to complete the tunnel.
Union minister Nitin Gadkari, Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah were also present at the inauguration.
The newly inaugurated tunnel will make the tourist resort accessible round the year.
The prime minister said that Jammu and Kashmir is the crown of the country and he wants it to be beautiful and prosperous.
"There is an atmosphere of peace in Jammu and Kashmir and we have seen its effect on tourism. Kashmir is writing a new saga of development today," he said.
He said the Kashmir valley will soon be connected by train and there is enthusiasm among people about it.
Modi also paid tributes to the seven people who were killed in a terror attack near the Z-Morh tunnel here in October last year.
Further without addressing the demand for restoration of Jammu and Kashmir's statehood, he said, "You have to believe that this is Modi and he keeps his promises. There is a right time for everything and right things will happen at the right time."
This is Modi's first visit to Jammu and Kashmir after the assembly elections in September-October last year.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday said perpetrators of violence will always face defeat in Jammu and Kashmir and not be allowed to cause any harm to democracy in the region.
Paying tributes to seven persons, including a local doctor who lost their lives in a terror attack on the tunnel construction workers last year, Abdullah said they have sacrificed their lives for the development of the country and Jammu and Kashmir.
Abdullah also raised statehood issue with PM Modi and expressed that he "hopes it will be restored soon".
The 6.5 km-long two-lane bi-directional road tunnel between Gagangir and Sonamarg in central Kashmir's Ganderbal district is equipped with a parallel 7.5-metre escape passage for emergencies.
Situated at an altitude of over 8,650 feet above sea level, the tunnel will enhance all-weather connectivity between Srinagar and Sonamarg en route to Leh, bypassing routes prone to landslides and avalanches.
The tunnel will also promote tourism by ensuring year-round connectivity to Sonamarg.
Along with the Zojila tunnel, set to be completed by 2028, the Z-Morh tunnel will reduce the distance between the Kashmir Valley and Ladakh from 49 km to 43 km and boost vehicle speed from 30 km/hr to 70 km/hr.
The enhanced connectivity will also boost defence logistics, drive economic growth and socio-cultural integration across Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.
The work on the Z-Morh tunnel began in May 2015 and it was expected to be completed by 2016-17.
It was completed in almost a decade as the Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS), the initial concessionaire for executing the project, stopped work in 2018 due to financial stress.