PM Modi inaugurates strategic Atal Tunnel at Rohtang

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday inaugurated the strategically important Atal Tunnel in Himachal Pradesh, which will connect Solang Valley near Manali to Sissu in Lahaul and Spiti district.

For the inauguration. PM Narendra Modi was accompanied by Deence Minister Rajnath Singh, Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat and Army Chief General MM Naravane.

The 9.02-km tunnel — the longest highway tunnel in the world above the height of 3,000 metres — cuts through a mountain west of the Rohtang La and will shorten the distance between Solang Valley and Sissu by around 46 km and will take around 15 minutes to cover. Earlier, it would take nearly 4 hours to travel between the two points.

The double-laned tunnel — one of the longest road tunnels in the country — can handle around 3,000 cars and 1,500 trucks per day, with a maximum speed of 80 km per hour.

Calling it an “engineering marvel”, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh reached the site on Friday to review the preparations, and tweeted, “Visited the ‘Atal Tunnel, Rohtang’ to review the preparations for the inaugural ceremony to be held tomorrow. PM Shri Narendra Modi will dedicate the Tunnel to the nation. This 9.02 Km long ‘Engineering Marvel’ will connect Manali to Lahaul-Spiti valley throughout the year.”

The tunnel has the potential to link Ladakh to Manali and Chandigarh throughout the year, as it would bypass Rohtang Pass, which is snowed in through the winter months. However, passes like Thanglang La and Baralacha La can still cut off road access to Leh in the winters.

Named after former Prime Minister Atal Bihar Vajpayee, construction on the tunnel took nearly a decade and cost around Rs 3,200 crore. The tunnel has been constructed with 15,000 tonnes of steel, of which the Steel Authority of India provided 9,000 tonnes.

The decision to construct Atal Tunnel was taken on June 3, 2000, by the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The foundation stone for the tunnel was laid on May 26, 2002.

It is a horseshoe-shaped, single tube double lane tunnel, equipped with security features such as CCTV cameras, telephone connections at every 150 meters for any emergency, fire hydrant mechanism at every 60 meters and auto incident detection system. There are evacuation lighting and exit signs at every 25 metres and broadcasting system throughout the stretch.