Zojila Pass is often called as the gateway to Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir. Perched at an altitude of 3465 m, it is located in the main Himalayan range on the Srinagar-Leh highway. It has an impressive location, enclosed by Kashmir Valley on one side and Drass Valley on the other side, overlooking snow capped peaks and thick belt of forests. It is closed half the year due to heavy snowfall and opened in late spring. The 434 kms long Srinagar-Leh national highway has thrown opened for vehicular traffic recently, a month before the schedule on April 17. This national highway is the only road link between Ladakh and rest of the Jammu and Kashmir and due to the heavy snow fall at 11578 feet Zojila pass, it remain close throughout the winter and is only thrown open during mid May after clearing the snow. This time border roads organization (BRO) managed to clear the snow on the Zojila pass much before which led to the opening of road for vehicular traffic. “Usually we used to wait for summer to come to clear the snow on the pass but this time our men were on the job throughout the winter. We didn't wait for summer but were clearing the snow throughout the winter,” said Chief Engineer BRO Brig Ashok Kumar Bhutani. “Even the road up to famous tourist spot of valley Sonamarg remained open throughout the winter as the BRO men were able to clear the snow from road very fast,” Brig Bhutani added. Throwing Srinagar-Leh national open means tourists all across the state would be able to reach Ladakh a month back. It will not only provide more time for tourists to enjoy but also will add into the economy of the Ladakh region. Although the Kashmir valley received less snow fall this year, but Zojila pass witnessed heavy snowfall which it usually does and still BRO was able to clear the snow from the Srinagar-Leh national highway. “Zojila pass received the same amount of snow which it does every year. It is never easy to clear the snow on this pass so fast but this year we worked on our already prepared strategy and got the result which is in front of people as the vehicular traffic will play on the national highway a month before,” said Brig Bhutani. Though the state government didn't helped BRO officials to clear the road but still the road is being thrown open much earlier.
