Govt approves 12.7-km long tunnel under Shinkun La pass

The defence ministry has given the go-ahead to NHIDCL to prepare the detailed project report (DPR) for a 12.7 km tunnel beneath the Shinkun La pass in the border belt of Ladakh and Himachal Pradesh. The tunnel will provide all-weather road connectivity between HP and Leh, which is being developed as an alternate road for strategic reasons. It will link the NH-3 from the HP side with Darcha-Padam-Nimu road to Leh. This axis passes away from the border of China and Pakistan. The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) had suggested the government to take up the tunnel and Nimu-Padam-Darcha road projects on priority considering the current scenario along the line of actual control (LAC). The alternative connectivity from Manali to Leh through Nimu-Padam-Darcha axis will also reduce the travel time as compared to the time taken on the existing routes passing through Zojila pass from Srinagar.