Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the strategic Z-Morh tunnel connecting Kashmir with Sonamarg on Monday. Both, the Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and Prime Minister Modi were aware that the statehood demand issue would crop up during their meeting. CM Abdullah was the first to raise the issue while PM Modi was sitting on the dais, and later, the Prime Minister reiterated that he would keep his promise.

Speaking at the function, Abdullah pressed for the restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir as promised by the PM before the assembly elections in September last year. “You gave three very important points in your programme. You talked about ‘dil ki duri’ (distance between hearts) and ‘Dilli se duri’ (distance of people of Jammu and Kashmir with Delhi) and said you are trying to eliminate both these things….My heart says that very soon, prime minister, you will fulfil your third promise to the people of Jammu and Kashmir. And Jammu and Kashmir will once again get the status of a state,” he said.

: जम्मू-कश्मीर को PM मोदी की बड़ी सौगात, सोनमर्ग में जेड मोड़ टनल का उद्घाटन, ‘J&K से पुराना रिश्ता है, देश के हर कोने में उत्सव का माहौल’ | — Zee News (@ZeeNews)

Prime Minister Modi then assured the public that he would keep his promise. Without making a direct reference to the issue of statehood, Modi told the gathering, “You have to believe that this is Modi and he keeps his promises….There is a right time for everything and the right things will happen at the right time,” he said. Modi said that Jammu and Kashmir is the crown of the country and he wants it to be beautiful and prosperous.

This was Modi’s first visit to Jammu and Kashmir after the assembly elections in September-October last year. The inauguration of this tunnel will make picturesque Sonamarg accessible to tourists and locals during winter months. The construction of this tunnel was necessary for providing an all-weather road to the Ladakh region because Z-Morh road in Gagangir is prone to avalanches. The Srinagar-Leh road will be an all-weather road once the Rs 6,800 crore Zojila tunnel is completed. The scheduled date for completion of the Zojila tunnel is 2028. (With PTI inputs)

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