J-K: Senior police, CRPF officers review security of Qazigund-Banihal tunnel

Top police and CRPF officers led by IG Kashmir Vijay Kumar on Wednesday reviewed the security of the double-tube four-lane Qazigund-Banihal tunnel along the Jammu-Srinagar national highway – the only all-weather road linking Kashmir with the rest of the country.

The 8.5-km-long tunnel was thrown open to public last month and it bypasses the Jawahar Tunnel and the Shaitani Nallah that are prone to heavy snowfall and slippery conditions during the winters, leading to frequent closure of the highway.

Inspector General (IG) of Police, Kashmir, Kumar along with other senior officers, including CRPF Inspector General Deepak Ratan, visited the north and south portal of the new tunnel and control room, a police official said.

He said the visiting officers held a detailed meeting and conducted a physical security review on the ground.

IG Kumar instructed field officers of the police and the CRPF to prepare and implement a comprehensive joint security grid at the new tunnel as was the practice at the Jawahar Tunnel.

A demonstration was presented to the visiting officers regarding the functioning of CCTV cameras and other gadgets, the official said, adding that the IG advised field officials at the tunnel and the National Highway Authority of India to conduct a mock drill of rescue action along with police and CRPF personnel at the earliest.

Some additional deployments of CRPF were also decided to augment the security at the tunnel, the official said.

The work on the new tunnel, built at a cost of Rs 21,00 crore, started in June 2011 by Navyug engineering company and its opening has reduced the road distance between Banihal in Jammu province and Qazigund in south Kashmir by 16 kms, officials said.

The tunnel is a masterpiece of engineering and has been constructed with the New Austrian Tunneling Method. It has been built on the build operate and transfer base system with a state-of-the-art exhaust system to remove gas and bring in fresh air.

There are 126 jet fans, 234 CCTV cameras and fire-fighting systems installed in both tubes of the tunnel. A corridor between the two tubes after every 500 meters inside the tunnel has been built and can be used in case of any emergency in either tube, the officials said.

The Jawahar Tunnel below the Banihal Pass witnesses traffic congestion that affects movement on the highway due to its elevation of 2,194 m (7,198 ft) and limited traffic capacity, they said.

The new tunnel's average elevation at 1,790 m (5,870 ft) is 400 m lower than the existing Jawahar tunnel's elevation, which makes it less prone to avalanches and fulfils the dream of expressway between Srinagar and Banihal, the officials said.