Zojila Pass

About Zojila Pass

• Zojila Pass, also known as ‘The Mountain Pass of Blizzards’, is a high mountain pass located in the Kargil district of Ladakh.
• It is located on the Srinagar-Kargil-Leh highway (NH-1) at a height of 11,650 feet.
• It lies in the Greater Himalayan Range.
• The pass remains closed for almost half of the year due to heavy snowfall.
• History:
  • It was the site of the Indo-Pakistan War of 1947-48.
  • It was captured by militias aided by the Pakistan Army in 1848, with the ultimate aim of capturing Ladakh.
  • However, the pass itself was captured by the Indian Army on 1st November 1948, in an assault codenamed Operation Bison.

What is Zojila Tunnel?

• Location: It is an under-construction tunnel situated at an altitude of 11,578 ft (around 3,500 metres) on the Srinagar-Leh Highway in Jammu and Kashmir.
• The tunnel would provide all-weather connectivity between Srinagar and Leh on NH-1.
• Total Length: 14.15 km.
• It will be India’s longest road tunnel, and Asia’s longest bi-directional tunnel.
• It would be 9.5-meter wide and 7.57-meter high in the shape of a horseshoe.

Q1) What is the Greater Himalayan Range?

It is the highest and northernmost section of the Himalayan mountain ranges. It extends southeastward across northern Pakistan, northern India, and Nepal before trending eastward across Sikkim and Bhutan and finally turning northeastward across northern Arunachal Pradesh state. The range’s total length is some 1,400 miles (2,300 km), and it has an average elevation of more than 20,000 feet (6,100 meters).It contain many of the world’s tallest peaks, including (from west to east) Nanga Parbat, Annapurna, Mount Everest, and Kanchenjunga.

Source: Watch: Army's Artillery Guns "Forge Thunderstorms" Near Zojila Pass