In Zojila, light at the end of tunnel

On June 9, as major construction was being carried out on the 13.14 kilometer long Zojila Tunnel, 50-year-old Muhammad Shafi Sagar and 30-year-old Ashiq Wazir, who did not know each other, felt both relief and sadness. The relief of being able to travel with his friends between the Drass district of Ladakh and the Kashmir Valley in a few years, relatively free from the fear of treacherous terrain. Sadness because they had both lost their loved ones on the dangerous Zojila Pass.

The Zojila Tunnel cuts through the vertical, rugged Himalayan Range at Drass, passing a 30 km long gorge. In the district’s Pandrass village, the mountains form walls parallel to each other; At this elevation of 10,800 feet, there are no trees in sight. In winter, the temperature drops below -25 degrees Celsius. During the summer months, the peaks are still surrounded by snow, but the melting glaciers are softening. Waterfalls gush from high mountain slopes, adding to the roar of the Drass river below.

Shepherds from the plains congregate in high-altitude grasslands with wild grasses and freshwater bodies. The kids are at Pandrass High School, the sun shining on them and their L-shaped single-story campus, but biting winds still make it necessary to wear wind blockers. Even in June, night temperatures continue to drop below freezing.

Under these conditions, 1,200 people working from a camp site are constructing the Zojila Tunnel on National Highway-1, which will connect Baltal in Kashmir’s Ganderbal district with Minamarg in Ladakh’s Drass. In the past, the transition was full of tragedies.

“Throwing stones, snow slides, sudden temperature drops and avalanches have killed travelers on the Zojila Pass for centuries. Kargil (in Ladakh) is full of stories of loss and disappearance,” says Sagar, a teacher at Pandrass High School and also the author of a book on the culture of the Shina tribe in Ladakh.

Officials during inspection and breakthrough of Zojila tunnel in Minimarg in Ladakh on Tuesday, June 9, 2026. | Photo Credit: Imran Nissar

Workers and technicians, mostly from India but also from abroad, have put in 10 million safe working hours. They grappled with the geological uncertainties of young mountains, rock classification changing every few hundred meters, and water pouring from crevasses. Built at a cost of 6,800 crore, the excavation was carried out between altitudes of 2,900 meters on the Kashmir side and 3,310 meters on the Ladakh side. It is expected to be operational by 2028 and is designed to remain open year-round.

danger zone

Sagar tells a story about his colleagues from 33 years ago. In 1993, Pandrass High School, located 13 km from Zojila Pass, closed for the usual five-month winter break in December. Two teachers, Shabir Ahmad and Bashir Ahmad, decided to return to their homes in the Kashmir valley. The Union Territory of Ladakh was part of the Kashmir division of the erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir until 2019.

“Winter had already set in. Two teachers left for home. The sub-zero temperature near Zojila Pass killed them. A week later, one body was found, while the other remains untraceable till date. Locals think wild animals might have taken it,” says Sagar.

For Sagar, the tunnel provided a new living space for the people living here. “When a local person fell ill and needed specialized treatment, the nearest hospital was in Leh, 279 km away. The patient would then be flown to Delhi or Srinagar. Thanks to the tunnel, it will be just 141 km away from Srinagar by car,” says Sagar. Concerns about vegetables, gas and grocery stocks will be stories from the past.

On March 27 this year, despite better road management and early warnings than in the past, seven people were killed and five others injured in an avalanche at Zojila Pass. The bright sun that suddenly appeared around 12.30 pm triggered the rockfall. One of the victims of the horrific Zojila Pass was Akbar Ali Shadab, a 36-year-old resident of Kargil’s Tharumsa Peshkum village. Shadab had just had a baby six months ago. He worked as a wildlife conservationist and was respected for his volunteerism.

Wazir, the victim’s nephew, says, “The news that four vehicles were trapped in an avalanche flashed on social media. We reached the scene in the evening. Rescue teams stopped operations overnight. My uncle’s body was found around 6 a.m. the next morning.”

Now the conversation around Zojila is changing. Sajjad Kargili, who is in charge of political affairs at Jamiat Ul Ulama Isna Asharia Kargil, an influential seminary, sees the tunnel as “the realization of a decades-old dream of the local people.” He cites many leaders who have demanded tunnels at both the State and Central levels over the years.

Kargılı was joined by senior members of the seminary on June 9, who paid tribute to “all those who devoted their lives to this cause but did not live to witness this historical moment.” He remembers those who were lost or died.

“This is not just an engineering milestone, but also a testament to sacrifice. The historic breakthrough stands as a landmark achievement in a long journey of struggle, hope and determination. It opens a new chapter of connectivity, progress and prosperity for the region,” he says.

A tourist vehicle inside the tunnel during inspection and breakthrough. | Photo Credit: Imran Nissar

Nearly 80% of those working in the field are local people. The tunnel is intended to remain open during the winter, providing year-round tourism opportunities.

Scaling heights

Ladakh’s Zojila Pass has historically been daunting for India. It was overwhelmed by Pakistan during the 1947 India-Pakistan war, and in 1948 it took two months of driving tanks between September and October to defeat and evacuate the Pakistani Army. The war spurred construction efforts to make Zojila Pass drivable. “After the 1962 India-China war, the focus shifted again to Zojila Pass and its importance. The road was further widened and attracted attention,” says Sagar.

Attempts to award the project failed four times from 2005 to 2019. The project was shelved in 2019 due to financial losses of the company that was tendered to do the work. Work on the Zojila Tunnel accelerated after India and China faced each other in Galwan on June 15-16, 2020, resulting in casualties on both sides for the first time since the wars in the 1960s.

On October 15, 2020, the construction of Zojila Tunnel was started by National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) and Megha Engineering & Infrastructures Ltd (MEIL). The first blasting of the Nilgrar Tunnel was carried out on October 14, 2020. In order to prepare the ground for the tunnel works, approach roads, bridges, Nilgrar twin tunnels, cut-cover works and a snow gallery (to protect the tunnel from heavy snowfall) were built.

Six years later, the Zojila Tunnel will be the world’s longest single-tube two-way highway tunnel at an altitude of 11,578 feet. The main tunnel is U-shaped and 9.5 meters wide and 7.57 meters high.

The harsh weather conditions and the rock structure of the mountain posed a great challenge to engineers and workers. Rock classification changed 67 times throughout the 13.14 km area, constantly switching between good and bad formations. The highly variable geology was managed with the expertise of the talented crew.

“The Himalayas are considered young mountains. They are only 700 million years old,” says Yousef Es’haghpour Rahimabadi, an Iranian engineer working for NHIDCL. “The rocks were not yet fully solidified or densified. We had to work on 8 to 10 fault zones that required special precautions. Water seepage was a major concern,” he adds.

He has 29 years of experience in tunnel construction. Rahimabadi, who provides consultancy on field solutions as well as design, says, “I worked mostly in the Middle East.”

Rahimabadi says the age of the tunnel has been determined as 100 years. During the construction of the project, workers endured temperatures of -20 degrees Celsius for approximately 100 days a year. A base camp was established for more than 1,100 people, providing climate-appropriate food, medical facilities, transportation and amenities to maintain 24-hour operations.

A Spanish company also joined the project to provide expert solutions to problems arising from the geology of the mountains.

In the last five years, the project site has faced five major avalanches: two in 2023, two in 2024 and one in 2025. On January 12, 2023, a heavy avalanche hit the Sarbal area near the Nilgrar Tunnels. On January 15, 2023, some 172 workers were trapped in an avalanche.

A fleet of small and large snowplows has been deployed to combat heavy snow accumulation in winter. This ensured that construction work was uninterrupted while also ensuring that the highway remained open for regular vehicle movement. “Supply was also a big challenge. It took three months to get the bridges to Minamarg because the ring road in Sonamarg was closed due to winter,” says Rahimabadi.

Bridges are massive, adaptable molds designed to shape concrete in a tunnel excavation. Rahimabadi credits the New Austrian Tunneling Method (NATM), which implements the sequential excavation method. “The NATM method uses the blast-and-go technique. We worked in two shifts within 24 hours to ensure the deadline was met,” says Rahimabadi.

Since there is no separate escape route in the tunnel, there are vertical structures to provide fresh air ventilation and emergency safety. It offers automatic and emergency lighting, emergency telephone and radio connectivity, and message signaling to ensure passenger safety. Vehicles will be able to travel at a speed of 80 km per hour. While it takes two hours to cross the Zojila Pass, it will take travelers 30 to 40 minutes to cross the mighty and rugged Himalayan Range.

Change with the push of a button

Harpal Singh, chief operating officer of Megha Engineering, recalls seeing groups of bears hibernating near tunnel mouths in winter. “We would ignore each other. We wouldn’t try to disrupt their habitat.” He also talks about the desolate landscape to which the people of Sonamarg leave in winter. “We only see police and Army patrolling,” says Singh.

Zojila Tunnel has immense strategic value for India. India shares a 3,488 km long border with China, of which 1,597 km passes through Ladakh. Apart from the threats posed by China in the east, Pakistan is located in the west of Ladakh, beyond the Line of Control.

“Earlier, Zojila Pass would face closure for five to six months due to snowfall. This tunnel will provide all-weather connectivity with Ladakh and will help the Army,” says Singh.

The completion of the Zojila Tunnel project comes at a time when major military activities have begun on China’s Ladakh borders and Pakistan’s Gilgit and Baltistan borders.

Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari underlined the strategic value of the tunnel when he pressed the button for the final explosion in the tunnel on June 9. “From a national security perspective, this project will be a game changer. With year-round connectivity, the movement of the Indian Army as well as the supply of Army supplies, equipment and logistics will become faster, safer and more effective, thereby strengthening the country’s strategic readiness,” he said.

Above the voice of the exploding government is the voice of a school teacher. “The tunnel may dilute the local culture. Modernity will challenge the old ways of life in Drass. Tourism will introduce new methods of construction,” says a worried Sagar.