CM Omar proposes renaming Navyug Tunnel after former PM Manmohan Singh

Srinagar, Dec 29: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah Sunday said that the Navyug Tunnel connecting Qazigund with Banihal on the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway should be dedicated to the late Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

A local news gathering agency KNO reported that talking to media persons here, CM Omar said that the late PM did a lot for Jammu and Kashmir.

“Four laning of Srinagar-Jammu National Highway was taken up during Dr Manmohan Singh’s regime. Today the distance between Srinagar and Jammu is covered within 5 hours and it’s his contribution,” he said.

The CM said that the Navyug Tunnel should be rechristened as ‘Dr Manmohan Singh Tunnel’.

“Let anyone take the credit for new tunnels on the highway but we should remember that the process to develop the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway was initiated by late PM Dr Manmohan Singh,” he said.

CM Omar termed Singh as a true statesman and said his contribution towards J&K would be remembered forever.

“It was during Dr Singh’s regime that the Round Table Conference was held on Kashmir, interlocutors were appointed, cross-LoC trade was started, a special scholarship scheme for J&K students was introduced, and concrete steps were taken for rehabilitation of Kashmiri Pandits,” he said. “He never spoke about his achievements but he will always be remembered as a true son of soil.”