Srinagar, Jan 11: Two days ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to inaugurate the Z-Morh tunnel in Jammu and Kashmir’s Ganderbal district, an impregnable blanket of security was thrown over Gagangir and Sonamarg areas on Saturday.
The venues where PM Modi will inaugurate the site and hold public meetings have been taken over by the Special Protection Group (SPG). PM Modi is scheduled to land at Neelgrad helipad and then drive to Gagangir for the inauguration of the Z-Morh tunnel that will make Sonamarg an all-weather destination.
The outer layers of security are managed by the Jammu and Kashmir Police and the security forces while the outermost layer of security, including mountain tops and farther away areas, are being looked after by the Army. Every minute detail about PM Modi’s security is being attended to.
Electronic surveillance, access control and drones have been pressed into service to see that the VVIP security becomes flawless. “No chances are being taken and even the minutest detail concerning PM Modi’s security are being attended to,” said a top security officer.
Scores of policemen in civvies have fanned out in Neelgrad, Sonamarg, Gagangir, Gund, Haknar, Sarfraw and other areas within a 20 km radius of the said venues. Traffic on the Srinagar-Leh road, which passes through Gagangir and Sonamarg has been suspended for two days.
Jammu and Kashmir DGP Nalin Prabhat, IGP Kashmir V. K. Birdi, IGP Security Sujit Kumar and all other senior officers will stay in Sonamarg till PM Modi’s visit concludes. A number of dry runs of the security arrangements have already been done and the same shall continue on a real-time basis till PM Modi arrives.
Union Minister for Road, Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari, Jammu and Kashmir L-G Manoj Sinha and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah will be present during the inauguration of the Z-Morh tunnel.
The tunnel will bypass the stretch of the road from Gagangir to Sonamarg. This troublesome stretch remains closed due to heavy snowfall and avalanches in winter months.
The Z-Morh Tunnel is a 6.5 km long 2-lane road tunnel between Gagangair and Sonamarg in Ganderbal district. It is named after the Z-shaped stretch of road that the tunnel has replaced (Z-Morh translates to ‘Z-turn’ in English).
The road used before was avalanche-prone and used to get blocked for several months, but the Z-Morh tunnel will provide all-weather connectivity to the Sonamarg tourist town. It will take only 15 minutes to travel the 6.5 km long tunnel compared to hours over the zig-zag road up and down the hills.
The tunnel was built at a cost of Rs 2400 crore. Once operational, the tunnel will help employment, trade, Amarnath Yatra, travel to the Ladakh region and round-the-year tourism in Sonamarg hill station.
IANS