2194.56 meters above sea level, Jawahar tunnel or Banihal tunnel, situated between Banihal and Qazigund, has been operational since 22 December 1956 – built with the help of german engineers, at that time it was the longest in Asia.
This 2.5 kilometer long tunnel, dug through a mountain of Pir Panjal range, is the main link that connects Kashmir to the rest of the country. In fact, it’s not a single tunnel, “Jawahar Tunnel” is a set of two long wet tubes, each 2825 meter long, dug inside the mountain range.
Prior to the construction of these tunnel, to enter kashmir through this route, people had to cross the Pir Panjal using a mountain pass high up in the range. This old mountain pass is still visible from the main highway.
Met an uncle of mine on my trip to jammu..He was on his way from Srinagar to jammu.{in a Tata Sumo Of Course !}..An avalanche had caused the Traffic Blockage,,and he had to spend entire night (around 12 Hours)..caught inside the Tunnel..Really a horrible experience..Freezing Temperature..Pitch darkness (Lights inside the tunnel were switched off)..and no food.. The NH-1A gan get hell at times…
The two tubes are not exactly equal.. There is a difference of 5-6 meters..
that really must have been a horrible experience.
Once that rail link starts fewer people would have to go through such experience.
I have heard that folks used to travel from Kashmir to Jammu (during durbar’mo Durbar move) carrying ration, stove, gas, vegetables etc. as a precaution…just in case they get stuck on the road for days due to bad weather. And this was often happened.
i remember going through this tunnel on a bus in 1979, 40 years ago. what i remember most about that journey is seeing the beautiful green lush valley on the other side.
TSRAR