Finding a clear window of dry weather in the first week of Feb 2023, snow clearance teams were pushed into immediate action by Project Beacon and Project Vijayak from Sonamarg and Dras ends of Zojila. After sustained and relentless efforts, initial connectivity across Zojila Pass was established on 11 Mar 2023.
The @BROindia, today opened strategic Zojila Pass after just 68 days of snow closure
Read more here: https://t.co/AhAl97oDEz@giridhararamane pic.twitter.com/l32BWqH6Pk
— A. Bharat Bhushan Babu (@SpokespersonMoD) March 16, 2023
Trial convoys of vehicles have been successfully passed through the Zojila on 16 Mar 2023, 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.
Talking to reporters after throwing the highway open for traffic officially, Director General Border Roads Organisation (BRO) Lt General Rajeev Chaudhary said, “it is always the toughest challenge to throw open Zojila pass. “It was due to the hard work of BRO officials and men that we were able to throw the pass open in a record number of 68 days. For the past three years, we have been breaking our own records,” he said.
“Our efforts will be making the road through in just 60 days (two months),” he said. “BRO officials and men are fully acclimatized and familiar with the area. No equipment was damaged during the road opening process.”
He said that the early opening of this road helps save RS 7 Crore a day for the government. “This road helps to send defence equipment including guns, bullets and tanks besides troops to Ladakh. Similarly, the early road opening helps give an economic push to the Ladakh region remain cut-off from the rest of the world for six months,” the DG said,
People of Ladakh can come to Srinagar through this road and carry out their economic activities and the people of Ladakh, Kargil, and Drass have appreciated the efforts of BRO to make the road open in less time.
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