Omar approves Rs 400 cr Singhpour-Vailoo tunnel

Jammu, Jan 13: In yet another major step to increase connectivity between regions, the Jammu and Kashmir government today decided to construct the 4.50 km long Vailoo tunnel to reduce the distance between Daksum and Chatroo.
 The Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah, gave his approval to the ambitious project, which will bring the south Kashmir district of Islamabad closer to the Kishtwar district of Jammu region. The project will cost Rs 400 crore and will be executed on Public-Private Partnership mode. A traveller has to cover 290 km. to reach Kishtwar via the Srinagar-Jammu highway and the Srinagar-Sinthan-Kishtwar road reduces the distance by 200 km.
 Matters relating to the construction of the tunnel were discussed at a high-level meeting presided over by the Chief Minister here today. It also discussed the modus operandi for constituting a Special Purpose Vehicle by the Jammu and Kashmir Bank for construction of the tunnel. The Bank agreed to complete the tunnel in one and a half years. It will be a landmark in realizing the long cherished dream of Greater Kashmir.
 The Minister for Roads and Buildings, G M Saroori, the Chief Minister’s Advisors, Mubarak Gul and Devender Singh Rana, and Principal Secretary, Khurshid Ahmed Ganai, the Chairman, Jammu and Kashmir Bank, Dr Haseeb Drabu, the Commissioner/ Secretary, Planning, B B Vyas, the Commissioner/Secretary, R&B, Mehboob Iqbal, and other senior officers were present in the meeting.
 Dr Drabu presented a resume of the proposed project and said the viable scheme would be a showcase for PPP mode in the state.
 The Government had earlier submitted a detailed Rs 629 crore project report for Chattroo-Singpour-Sinthan-Vailoo tunnel for approval to the Union Surface Transport Ministry. While the BRO proposed to have a six-km-long tunnel between Pahalgarh and Alan Gadole, the State Government preferred the four-km-long tunnel from Singhpora to Vailoo.
 Pertinently, the Kishtwar-Daksum road which has brought the two main regions of the state closer passes through a difficult terrain in the Pir Panchal mountain range. Although thrown open for vehicular traffic, need for a tunnel at Vailoo has been felt by travellers for long to turn the route into a viable alternative to the Srinagar-Jammu highway which has been prone to frequent closures during inclement weather.
 Kishtwar is presently connected to Srinagar by a trekking route, which goes through Banderkot, Dadhpeth, Mughal Maidan, Chhatru, Sinthan and Daksum; crossing the 3,797 metres Sinthan pass.