New Delhi: The center has approved a plan to build a tunnel through the Kela pass in LATAKHwhich connects Leh with Pangong Lake, as well as the update of the Nurbo-Sumdo-Kiato road in Himachal Pradesh. The Ministry of Transportation on the road will occupy the projects under a separate budget that is aimed at ‘Strategic Road Projects’.
These two projects will allow both civilians and defense forces to travel from Leh to PANGG Lake easily throughout the year, the sources said.
The Border Roads (BRO) organization will prepare the detailed reports of the project (DPR) for these crucial works so that they can be accelerated. “With this, there is clarity about financing. Ladakh’s administration had proposed the central government to finance the Kela tunnel Project, ”said a source.
The sources said the tunnel would be 7-8 km long and will have twin tubes and it is likely that it costs around 6,000 million rupees. On November 17, Toi, 2024 had reported for the first time about the government’s plan to build the strategic project, which will substantially reduce Leh’s travel time to Pangong.
Kela Pass is a high mountain pass in the Changthang region of Leh in Ladakh and is the highest pass in the country, which connects Leh with Lake Pangong. Kela Pass is at an altitude of 18,600 feet of the middle level of the sea.
According to government records, the mountain pass is the gateway to Kela Tso (Kela Lake) or Lake Lchagri Gyamtso and beyond Tharuk, Sarkunchar and Tangste Village, and Pangueg Lake.
With the aim of improving connectivity for tourism, economic activities and the soft movement of the defense forces, the Ladakh administration in 2022 had first highlighted the need to build new tunnels in four main passes in Khardung la, Fotu la, Namika The and Kela.