The longest motorable tunnel at a height of over 3,000 metres will reduce the distance between Manali and Keylong by 46 km

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday inaugurated the strategically important all-weather Atal Tunnel at Rohtang, Himachal Pradesh, on Saturday.

The Prime Minister arrived at Manali on early today morning to inaugurate the Atal Tunnel, the longest highway tunnel in the world built at an altitude of 3,000 meters.

The longest motorable tunnel at a height of over 3,000 metres will reduce the distance between Manali and Keylong by 46 km. It is expected to boost tourism and winter sports in the region. Significantly, it will facilitate the movement of armed forces and infantry combat vehicles to the Line of Actual Control.

The 9.02-km tunnel connected Manali to Lahaul-Spiti valley throughout the year, the Prime Minister’s Office has said, noting that the valley was earlier cut off for about six months every year due to heavy snowfall.

Modi was accompanied by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat.

The Atal Bihari Vajpayee government had taken the decision to construct a 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.

The foundation stone for the 9.02-km horseshoe-shaped tunnel, built by the Border Roads Organisation at a cost of about Rs 4,000 crore, was laid by UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi on June 28, 2010.

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. — With PTI

Courtesy : Daily Tribune:  3rd October, 2020