Government renames Chenani-Nashri tunnel after Dr Shyama Prasad Mookerjee

The Centre on October 24 announced that the Chenani-Nashri tunnel will now be known as Dr Shyama Prasad Mookerjee tunnel.

The 9.2 km long tunnel in Jammu and Kashmir was inaugurated in 2017 by PM Narendra Modi. Built at a cost of Rs 2,600 crore, the tunnel reduces the distance between Jammu and Srinagar by 30 km.

Speaking at the event, Minister of Road Transport and Highways and MSME Nitin Gadkari said that the tunnel has been renamed to honour the Bharatiya Jana Sangh founder.

"The tunnel has been built on international standard and parameters and  also has an escape tunnel," said Gadkari.

He said that the government plans to spend around Rs 60,000 crore to build infrastructure in Jammu and Kashmir.

Addressing the issue of construction of the Zojila tunnel, he said the government plans to resume work on the tunnel. The construction contract was earlier awarded to IL&FS. However, the company exited the project after it ran into financial troubles.

He also said the government is in the final stages of designing an MSME package to aid development in the backward area of Jammu and Kashmir.