Ladakh LG Seeks Winter Lifelines as Ministers Promise Support on Air Links and Key Roads

Overview

• On Nov. 4, Lt Governor Kavinder Gupta urged Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari to fast‑track the Key‑La Tunnel and to assign it with the Phey–Ranbirpura and Rinchen Chowk–Saboo bypasses to NHIDCL.
• He requested sanction of a 7×80‑metre double‑lane bridge over the Shyok River under the Setu Bandhan Scheme and additional projects under CRIF for 2024–25 and 2025–26.
• Gupta highlighted the 106‑km Panikhar–Pahalgam link, including a proposed 3‑km tunnel at Bobang Gali Pass, as an all‑weather alternative between Ladakh and Kashmir; Gadkari assured cooperation.
• On Nov. 3, Gupta asked Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to continue Operation Sadbhavana and to maintain Kargil–Thoise–Chandigarh flights with enhanced Leh–Delhi air maintenance for winter logistics and medical evacuations.
• Both ministries offered verbal assurances and agreed to coordinate operational steps, while formal approvals, funding decisions and detailed execution plans remain pending.