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From 30 years, demand for construction of tunnel at J&K’s Sadhna Pass falls on deaf ears
The construction of the tunnel will provide Karnah, a far-flung area near the LOC in Kupwara district, all-weather connectivity with the rest of the state
The residents of Karnah town in north Kashmir have been protesting for the last 30 years to press for their demand for construction of a tunnel at the Sadhna Pass on the Kupwara-Tangdhar highway, which has emerged as a ‘death trap’ over the years.
More than 200 persons have died in the last six years due to massive avalanches at Sadhna top.
The construction of the Sadhna Pass tunnel will provide Karnah, a far-flung area near the Line of Control (LOC) in Kupwara district, all-weather connectivity with the rest of the state.
“Due to the lockdown enforced to contain coronavirus, we could not hold a protest, but once it is over, we will again protest until our demands are met,” said Raja Abdul Hamid, sarpanch of Dildar village in Karnah tehsil.
He said that every year the residents hold a protest in Srinagar and Karnah to press for their demand. “We have been doing it for the last 30 years and will continue to do so,” he said.
A former professor from Karnah Jahangir Danish said that every winter season it snows heavily at Sadhna and the Kupwara-Karnah stretch becomes highly vulnerable to avalanches and landslides. It gets disconnected from the rest of Kashmir for around six months creating shortages of essential and medical supplies.”
He said that they have taken up the matter with the administration, but to no avail. “For the last four years, we are only being told that a detailed project report (DPR) of the tunnel is being prepared but no one knows the reality,” he said.
Mohammad Kazafi, a member of the Karnah Residents Welfare Association, said, “When it snows, we have to carry patients on our shoulders and trek to reach the hospitals in Kupwara or Srinagar as we don’t have any medium of transport.”
Former MLA of Karnah Raja Manzoor Ahmad said “In 2018, I met Union minister Jitendra Singh in Delhi who assured us that he will look into the matter. Then the government invited tenders from consultancies for providing feasibility and technicality for the tunnel and approach roads. Later, due to a political spat between the PDP-BJP government, the project didn’t see the light of day.”
Speaking on the matter, Karnah SDM Bilal Mohiuddin Bhat said, “As per the communiqué between the Centre and Border Road Organisation(BRO), the work couldn’t commence due to the shortage of funds.”
Last week Karnah sub-divisional magistrate along with his security guard and driver were rescued by the army after the vehicle they were travelling in came under an avalanche at Sadhna Pass.
Karnah remains cut off from the rest of the Valley from December to April every year, as the Kupwara-Karnah road gets blocked due to the accumulation of 20 feet snow at Sadhna Pass, which is over 11, 000 feet above the sea level.
