SRINAGAR: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated a strategic Himalayan road tunnel on Monday, pushing all-weather access northwards towards contested high-altitude border zones with China and Pakistan.

The Z-Morh or Sonmarg tunnel, stretching 6.4km beneath a treacherous mountain pass cut off by snow for between four to six months a year, is part of a wider infrastructure drive in border zones.

It helps connect India-held Kashmir with Ladakh, acting as a stepping stone in opening the Srinagar-Leh Highway all year round.

“With the opening of the tunnel here, connectivity will significantly improve,” Modi said, wrapped in a jacket from the freezing cold after cutting the ribbon on the $313 million project that has taken a decade to construct.

India and China, the world’s two most populous nations, are intense rivals competing for strategic influence across South Asia, and their 3,500km shared frontier has been a perennial source of tension. Their troops clashed in 2020, killing at least 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers, and forces from both sides today face off across contested high-altitude borderlands.

However, Beijing and New Delhi agreed in October on patrols in disputed areas, shortly before a rare formal meeting — the first in five years — between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Modi.

Another tunnel on the same route, the 13km-long Zojila tunnel, is more than halfway completed and slated to open in 2026, according to the information ministry.

India has also built a $3.9 billion railway line connecting the lowland plains with occupied Kashmir for the first time, including the construction of the Chenab Rail Bridge, the highest of its kind in the world.

The 272km-long railway begins in the garrison city of Udhampur, headquarters of the Indian army’s northern command, and runs through Srinagar.

Published in Dawn, January 14th, 2025