Rohtang: The all-weather Atal tunnel inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday will reduce the distance between Manali and Leh by 46 km and the travel time by four to five hours.
It is the longest highway tunnel in the world. The strategically important tunnel is 9.02 km long and it connects Manali to Lahaul-Spiti valley throughout the year. The valley was earlier cut off for about six months every year due to heavy snowfall.
The tunnel is built with ultra-modern specifications in the Pir Panjal range of Himalayas at an altitude of 3,000 metres(10,000 feet) from the Mean Sea Level (MSL).
The south portal (SP) of Atal Tunnel is located at a distance of 25 km from Manali at an altitude of 3,060 metres, while the north portal (NP) of the tunnel is located near village Teling, Sissu, in Lahaul Valley at an altitude of 3,071 metres.
It is a horseshoe-shaped, single-tube double lane tunnel with a roadway of 8 metres and has an overhead clearance of 5.525 metres, officials said.
The tunnel, built at a cost of about Rs 3,300 crore, is extremely significant from the point of view of the country's defence, they said.
The BRO worked relentlessly to overcome major geological, terrain and weather challenges that included the most difficult stretch of the 587-metre Seri Nalah Fault Zone. The breakthrough from both ends was achieved on October 15, 2017.
Talking about the tunnel, a BRO official said it provides a telephone facility at every 150 metres of its stretch, a fire hydrant every 60 metres, emergency exits every 500 metre, turning cavern every 2.2 km, air quality monitors every 1 km, broadcasting system and automatic incident detection system with CCTV cameras every 250 metres.
The Atal Bihari Vajpayee government had taken the decision to construct the strategic tunnel below the Rohtang Pass on June 3, 2000, and the foundation stone for the access road to the south portal of the tunnel was laid on May 26, 2002.
Vajpayee got the idea for constructing the tunnel on a suggestion from his friend Arjun Gopal of Tashi Dobhe village in Lahaul, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur had said.
The Modi government decided to name the Rohtang Tunnel as Atal Tunnel in December 2019 to honour the former prime minister who had passed away the previous year.
Atal Tunnel takes Ladakh a step closer to round-the-year connectivity: LG Mathur
Ladakh Lt Governor R K Mathur on Saturday expressed happiness on the inauguration of the Atal Tunnel and said it took the Union Territory a step closer to the round-the-year connectivity with the rest of the country.
This day is momentous for the entire country as it addresses a major infrastructure gap. More so for the Union Territory of Ladakh, as it is the first step towards ensuring round-the-year connectivity with the rest of the country, Mathur said in a statement here.
He conveyed his gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi who inaugurated the strategically important 9.02-km tunnel, the world's longest highway tunnel which reduces the distance between Manali in Himachal Pradesh and Leh by 46 km and the travel time by four to five hours.