Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be on a whirlwind tour of Jammu & Kashmir on Saturday, when he will visit the state’s three principal regions -- Jammu, Kashmir and Leh. The visit follows just three days after Wednesday’s announcement of a suspension of security operations against militants for the duration of the holy month of Ramzan.

Modi will launch some highvalue projects on the visit, according to officials in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) who asked not to be named. The Prime Minister is also expected to speak at a rally in Jammu before returning to New Delhi the same evening.

Modi will lay the foundation stone for the two-lane Zojila tunnel, which, once ready, will provide all-weather connectivity between Srinagar and the strategically important Kargil and Leh regions.

At the moment, road connectivity to the region is closed for six months of the year on account of snow on the mountain passes and the threat of avalanches.

The construction of the 14-km-long tunnel would bring about the economic and sociocultural integration of these regions, a senior road transport and highways ministry official said. Once construction begins, the project is expected to be completed in seven years. The total cost of the project is ₹6,808.69 crore.

Modi will also inaugurate the

330 MW Kishanganga hydroelectric project in north Kashmir’s Bandipora region. The Kishanganga river, a tributary of the Jhelum, is covered under the 1960 Indus Water Treaty, the water-sharing agreement between India and Pakistan.

From Srinagar, the Prime Minister will go to Jammu to lay the foundation stone of the

58-km Jammu ring road project that will be constructed at a cost of ₹1,339 crore

The Prime Minister’s visit coincides with the initial days of Ramzan, during which the state government had asked for a unilateral ceasefire in the state.

“So far, (Prime Minister) Modi’s appearances and his speeches in Kashmir have not yielded results. The violence has not stopped and locals are again going back to militancy. We expect some surprise announcements from Modi. He has to reach out to the youth,” said Noor Ahmed baba, professor of political science at the Kashmir Centra University.

HT Correspondent letters@.com  

Courtesy: Hindustan Times -17 May 2018