Border Roads Organisation restores road connectivity to Ladakh, Gurez sectors

Vijay Mohan

Chandigarh, March 16

After remaining closed for the shortest time ever, the strategic Zozila Pass on the Srinagar-Kargil-Leh highway was reopened for vehicular traffic bythe Border Roads Organisation (BRO) onThursday, thereby restoring road connectivity to Ladakh that remains suspended during winters due to heavy snow.

Connectivity to the Gurez sector towards the western axis, has also been restored.

The Zojila pass is located on National Highway-1 in the Greater Himalayan Range at a height of 11,650 feet and provides a vital strategic link between Kashmir Valley and Ladakh region.

Earlier, this pass used to normally close by October-November every year and re-open only by April-May, with the total closure time averaging to almost five to six months.

“With the renewed focus on infrastructure development and augmentation of connectivity to the northern borders in recent years, there has been a strategic requirement of minimising the closure of Zozila Pass during winters,” a statement issued by the Army said.

“BRO accordingly ensured that the Zozila Pass was kept open for traffic till as late as January 6 this year, thereby creating a new historic precedence of its kind,” the statement added.

The advantage accrued by keeping Zozila open till this late can be assessed by the fact that almost 13,500 vehicles crossed the pass between the end of November 2022 and January 6, 2023.

Despite a spell of severe winter which has witnessed the highest snowfall in the last five years, BRO rose to the challenge and initiated various measures to ensure the early opening of the Zozila Pass.

“Finding a clear window of dry weather in the first week of February 2023, snow clearance teams were pushed into immediate action by Project Beacon and Project Vijayak from Sonamarg and Dras ends of Zozila. After sustained and relentless efforts, initial connectivity across Zozila Pass was established on March 11, 2023,” the Army said.

Improvement and widening of road surface has also been carried out since then to facilitate safe passage of vehicles. Trial convoy of vehicles have successfully passed through Zozila on March 16, thereby ensuring that the pass remained closed for only 68 days this year as compared to 73 days last year and 160-180 days in the yesteryears.

Likewise, Razdan Pass which provides the only road connectivity between the Gureiz Sector and the Kashmir Valley has also been successfully reopened on March 16 after a gap of just 58 days.

Other important passes at Sadhna, Pharkiyan Gali and Zamindar Gali have been kept open throughout this winter season.