Hyderabad, Jan. 16 : Infrastructure major, Megha Engineering & Infrastructures Limited (MEIL), has achieved a milestone of completing work of a 5-KM-long tunnelling work, as part of the 18-km-long all-weather Zojila Tunnels in a record time of 14 months, the company said on Sunday.
The National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (NHIDCL)’s project , being executed by the MEIL, is envisaged to ensure connectivity between Srinagar and Ladakh throughout the year without any interruption.
The Zojilla Tunnels — Nilgrar 1, 2 and; Zojila main tunnel are being expeditiously executed, despite unfavourable weather conditions like snowfall and blizzard at an altitude of 3,528 metres above mean sea- level, it said.
Zojila project, Asia’s longest bidirectional tunnel, is a challenging development project in India for strategic reasons too.
Harpal Singh, Project Head, Zojila Tunnel, said, Our MEIL team has executed this project in toughest conditions with dedication and hard work .
The current winter witnessed the highest-ever snowfall in the history of Jammu and Kashmir with temperatures dropping to -30 degrees Celsius.
The project consists of three tunnels, four bridges, snow protection structures, culverts, catch dam, deflector dam, cut and cover tunnel, and many such engineering feats.
Union Minister for Road and Transport Nitin Gadkari had lauded the efforts of the MEIL in executing the project at a fast pace during his earlier visit. The Minister had said this project would improve socio-economic conditions, transport, and tourism of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, MEIL said.
