PM Modi today inaugurated the Atal Tunnel of strategic importance for all weather.
New Delhi:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today inaugurated the strategically important all-weather Atal Tunnel in Himachal Pradesh that connects Manali with the Lahaul-Spiti valley and reduces travel time to Leh (in the Union Territory of Ladakh) by up to five hours. .
Prime Minister Modi was accompanied by Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, Chief of Defense General Staff (CDS), General Bipin Rawat, and Army Chief General MM Naravane, as well as Himachal Chief Minister Jairam Thakur.
Describing the moment as a “historic day” and heralding the realization of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s dream (the tunnel is named after him), Prime Minister Modi said the tunnel will strengthen India’s border infrastructure.
“The Atal tunnel will give new strength to India’s border infrastructure. It is an example of world-class border connectivity. There have been demands to improve border infrastructure but, for a long time, such projects could not get out of the planning stage o it got stuck midway, “the Prime Minister said in his inauguration speech.
“This tunnel is not only important for Himachal, but also because it facilitates a connection to Ladakh. People living in the mountains would know the importance of reducing travel time by four to five hours,” the prime minister added.
Described as the longest road construction of its kind in the world (over 10,000 feet), the 9.02 km long Atal Tunnel is built to “ultra-modern specifications” at an altitude of 3,000 meters (10,000 feet) in the range of Pir Panjal of Himalaya.
It is a horseshoe-shaped, single-tube, double-lane tunnel with an eight-meter carriageway and a clearance height of 5.525 meters, the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement.
The tunnel has been designed for a traffic density of 3,000 cars and 1,500 trucks per day, each of which can travel at a maximum speed of 80 km / h.
The southern portal (SP) of the tunnel is located at a distance of 25 km from Manali and at an altitude of 3,060 meters. The North Portal (NP) is located near the village of Teling in the Lahaul Valley at an altitude of 3,071 meters.
The decision to build a strategic tunnel under the Rohtang Pass in Himachal was made on June 3, 2000, when Atal Bihari Vajpayee was Prime Minister. The first stone of the access road to the South Portal was laid on May 26, 2002.
The Union Cabinet decided in 2019 to name the Rohtang Tunnel the Atal Tunnel to honor the contribution made by the former prime minister.
The Border Roads Organization (BRO) worked tirelessly to overcome the geological, terrain and climate challenges that included the most difficult stretch of the 587-meter Seri Nalah fault zone.
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