The Army said on Wednesday that the Zojila Pass which connects Kashmir with Ladakh was kept open by Border Road Organization (BRO) for the first time in the month of January.
In a statement, the Army’s Srinagar based defence spokesman Col Emron Musavi said that in spite of heavy snowfall at Zojila, BRO, with relentless effort under 'Project Beacon', ensured that the pass remained functional facilitating connectivity to the Ladakh region.
Zojila -the only surface link between Kashmir and Ladakh - is a treacherous pass in high Himalayas which often used to remain closed for vehicular traffic due to harsh weather conditions. The pass is located at an altitude of 11,643 feet on Srinagar-Sonamarg-Gumri road.
“Last year Zojila Pass was kept open till 31 December 2020, however this year due to concerted efforts of Project Beacon, the Zojila Pass was opened for the first time ever in the month of January,” the spokesman said.
“Due to unrelenting efforts, BRO personnel have ensured trafficability on Srinagar – Sonamarg – Gumri Road across Zojila Pass by employing more than 20 heavy duty equipments including four state of the art Snow Cutters,” he said.
Project Beacon has ensured connectivity for strategic requirements of Defence forces and also the local population. The snowfall in the last two- three days has resulted in slippery road conditions along Zojila Pass on Srinagar – Leh highway causing disruption to traffic movement.
“Detachments of Project Beacon with pre positioned equipments located at Gumri, Bajri Nallah, Baltal, Sonamarg and Gagangir played key role to in opening of the Pass despite the inclement weather conditions. Day and night loose their relevance when six teams deployed at different locations worked 24x7 to keep the road open during extremely challenging conditions,” he said.