JAMMU, Mar 25: Ahead of his two-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir in April, Union Minister for Road, Transport and National Highways Nitin Gadkari has approved Rs 1973 crore for Srinagar-Baramulla-Uri National Highway works.Gadkari is scheduled to visit the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh on April 10 and 11, official sources told the Excelsior.Ahead of his visit, the Road and Highways Minister has released Rs 992.43 crore for paved shoulders on two-lane Baramulla Greenfield Bypass on Srinagar-Baramulla-Uri National Highway. He also released Rs 980.21 crore for Pattan Greenfield Bypass on Srinagar-Baramulla-Uri National Highway 01.He will visit Zojila tunnel being constructed on Srinagar-Kargil National Highway and inspect the ongoing work on April 10. Deadline fixed for construction of the tunnel is 2026 but there are indications that it might be completed ahead of the timeline.Construction of Zojila tunnel will link the Union Territory of Ladakh by road for full year. Presently, the Srinagar-Kargil-Leh National Highway has to be closed for nearly three to four months of winter due to snowfall around Zojila.However, construction of the tunnel will facilitate movement of traffic to Ladakh throughout the year which will not only help local people of the Union Territory and tourists but will also serve as boon for troops deployed in Eastern Ladakh and other areas along Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China and Line of Control (LoC) with Pakistan as their movement and supplies will not be interrupted.
