IAF’s Chinook conducts electromagnetic survey for Shinku La tunnel

Srinagar: It is claimed that the Rohtang pass tunnel, opened for public last month, will play a strategically important role. This tunnel has eased the movements of the Indian Army, further. Now the work on the Shinku La tunnel, connecting Manali in Himachal Pradesh and Kargil-Leh in Ladakh has been started. Help is being taken from the Indian Air Force (IAF) for this tunnel passing through mountainous terrain and electromagnetic surveys have begun using the Chinook helicopters of the IAF. The 13.5 kilometres, Shinku La tunnel will prove to be vital from a strategic point of view.

One has to cross a distance of 250 kilometres, to reach Kargil via Manali-Leh road. It takes almost one day to travel the distance. In winter the highway is closed. This causes a lot of inconvenience to the Army and it has to depend exclusively on air transport. Taking cognisance of the problems faced by the soldiers and civilians, work to build the Shinku La tunnel, connecting Manali with Kargil-Leh, has been started and aerial surveys of the terrain have been initiated. Electromagnetic surveys are being carried out of the mountainous terrain.

On Monday, the Chinook helicopter of the IAF started the electromagnetic survey, carrying a 500 Kilogram electromagnetic antenna. The electromagnetic survey is carried out to get the correct and three-dimensional view of the subsurface structures in the mountain area. The expert panel is minutely analysing altitudes, wind speeds and many other technical factors, which will be vital while planning the construction of the tunnel. Two rounds of test surveys were carried out in the last month and only after that the final survey was started on Monday. Four engineers from India and Denmark assembled the massive electromagnetic antenna in just two days.

The work for the tunnel is started from the Darcha area, in Lahaul region of Himachal Pradesh and will end in the Zanskar area, in the Kargil district of Ladakh. This tunnel will reduce the distance between Manali and Kargil by 250 kilometres and it is claimed that the travel time will be reduced to barely a few hours. This tunnel will be bigger than the Atal tunnel and will move military personnel and equipment, more accessible to the China border. It is also claimed that more importantly, the movement of the military will continue unhindered in any season of the year. Against the background of the rising tension with China, along the Line of Actual Control, the construction of the Shinku La Tunnel and the electromagnetic surveys for this purpose, are proving to be extremely important.