{"id":6418,"date":"2026-06-09T10:47:29","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T10:47:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thedhakajournal.com\/?p=6418"},"modified":"2026-06-09T10:47:30","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T10:47:30","slug":"india-breaks-through-himalayan-tunnel-to-china-border-zone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thedhakajournal.com\/?p=6418","title":{"rendered":"India breaks through Himalayan tunnel to China border zone"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Indian engineers broke through the final rock section in the strategic Zojila tunnel through a Himalayan mountain on Tuesday, a milestone in providing all-weather access to the frontier Ladakh region with China.<\/strong>India and China, the world&#8217;s two most populous nations, are intense rivals competing for strategic influence across South Asia. Ties have thawed since a 2020 border clash, but their 3,500-kilometre (2,200-mile) frontier has been a perennial source of tension.The tunnel forms part of a broader infrastructure push, creating a link with roads and railways that will allow trade, troops and supplies to move year-round from India&#8217;s sweltering lowland plains to the soaring icy border zones.This is not just a tunnel but a lifeline,&#8221; said India&#8217;s minister of roads, Nitin Gadkari, during a breakthrough ceremony on Tuesday at the high-altitude tunnel, which is part of a route designed to rapidly improve connectivity between Srinagar, the main city in Indian-administered Kashmir, and Leh, Ladakh&#8217;s key city.At present, road travel between the cities is blocked during winter due to heavy snowfall, which can often rise higher than a truck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Diggers cut through the final stretch of rock in a milestone in the creation of the 13.14-kilometre (8.17-mile) Zojila tunnel, which will connect two sides otherwise cut off by snow during the bitter winters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">More than 3,000 workers have been involved since 2020 in excavating the tunnel, which passes beneath the 3,528-metre (11,575-foot) Zojila Pass.Gadkari pressed a button to remotely trigger the final blast, connecting tunnels dug from both sides and creating what will be India&#8217;s longest road tunnel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;We have worked for this tunnel day and night in challenging weather conditions, and completed it without any accident,&#8221; project engineer Manmohan Singh told AFP.The project is part of a broader network of four major tunnels, including the 6.5-kilometre Sonamarg tunnel, a $712-million initiative expected to be fully operational by 2028.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">India has also developed a $3.9-billion railway line connecting the lowland plains with Kashmir, including the construction of the Chenab Rail Bridge, currently the highest of its kind in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Prime Minister Narendra Modi opened the railway route in June 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The 272-kilometre railway begins in the garrison city of Udhampur, headquarters of the army&#8217;s northern command, and runs through Srinagar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Muslim-majority Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since their independence from British rule in 1947, and both claim the Himalayan territory in full.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rebel groups demand independence for Kashmir or merger of the heavily militarised territory with Pakistan.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Indian engineers broke through the final rock section in the strategic Zojila tunnel through a Himalayan mountain on Tuesday, a milestone in providing all-weather access to the frontier Ladakh region with China.India and China, the world&#8217;s two most populous nations, are intense rivals competing for strategic influence across South Asia. Ties have thawed since a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6419,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6418","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>India breaks through Himalayan tunnel to China border zone - TDJ<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thedhakajournal.com\/?p=6418\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"India breaks through Himalayan tunnel to China border zone - TDJ\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Indian engineers broke through the final rock section in the strategic Zojila tunnel through a Himalayan mountain on Tuesday, a milestone in providing all-weather access to the frontier Ladakh region with China.India and China, the world&#8217;s two most populous nations, are intense rivals competing for strategic influence across South Asia. 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