Srinagar to Leh in 15 Mins? Twitter Mocks Smriti Irani’s Faux Pas

Smriti Irani posted a tweet saying, ‘Srinagar to Leh in 15 minutes: Cabinet approves Zojila Pass tunnel project’.

Union Minister Smriti Irani has committed a faux pas. 

(Photo: Youtube Screenshot/Altered by The Quint)

Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting Smriti Irani committed a faux pas on Friday, 5 January, when she posted a tweet that said 'Srinagar to Leh in 15 minutes: Cabinet approves Zojila Pass tunnel project'.

(Photo Courtesy: Twitter)

The tweet was accompanied by a link to a Times of India article (sourced from PTI), as well as an image of a story, whose headline was the same as her tweet.

Now, a quick glance on the internet reveals that the distance between Srinagar and Leh via NH-1D is more than 400 kms. And what Irani's tweet seems to be suggesting is that one can go from to Srinagar to Leh in 15 minutes.

400 kms in just 15 minutes? Say, what? The error is all too conspicuous.

Twitter Goes All Scienc-y to Mock Irani’s Faux Pas

The folks on Twitter were quick to mock this faux pas. However, Irani has still not deleted her erroneous tweet.

TOI has fixed the error in its copy, accompanied by a statement reading:

Corrigendum: An earlier version of this agency story wrongly mentioned that the travel time between Srinagar and Leh would be reduced to 15 minutes. The proposed tunnel would reduce the travel time of crossing Zojila Pass from 3.5 hours to 15 minutes. The error is regretted.

The Zojila Pass tunnel, whose construction the Union Cabinet approved on 3 January, is touted to be Asia's longest bi-directional tunnel, and is expected to be constructed in seven years.