Build tunnels on priority: Chamba NGO

Our Correspondent

Chamba, June 26

The Chamba Jan Hit Sangathan has sought the construction of tunnels beneath the Jot Pass from Chowari to Chamba and beneath the snow-capped Saach Pass linking the Pangi tribal valley on the Draman-Chamba-Pangi National Highway which was recently announced by Union Minister of Road Transport, Highways and Shipping Nitin Gadkari. If these tunnels are constructed on priority, it would help providing all-weather connectivity to the entire district of Chamba.

In a memorandum submitted to the Union Minister of Road Transport, Highways and Shipping Nitin Gadkari through the Deputy Commissioner of Chamba today, sangathan president Kishore Sharma said the road crosses over the Jot Pass at an altitude of 11,500 feet and the Saach Pass at an altitude of 14,500 feet, adding that the road passes through the winding ranges of the snowy mountains.

He said that the winter and rainy seasons, these Passes were covered by snow and the Pangi tribal valley was cut off from the rest of the state. As a result, the functioning of the entire system comes to halt, he added.

“The construction of tunnels beneath the Jot Pass from Chowari to Chamba and beneath the snow-capped Saach Pass is the only solution to provide all-weather road to ease the hard and arduous life of the people living in the difficult mountainous terrains,” Sharma said.

He said these tunnels under the snowy Passes should be constructed as ‘multipurpose tunnels’ through which transport, power transmission lines and telecommunication cables could also pass safely without any damage from the snow.

Besides, these tunnels would give a much-needed fillip to the promotion of tourism in valleys of the district, Sharma urged the Union Minister.