PM Narendra Modi to inaugurate Atal Tunnel at Rohtang in Himachal Pradesh at 10 AM on 3rd October. Atal Tunnel is the longest highway tunnel in the world. The tunnel reduces the road distance by 46 km between Manali & Leh and the time by about 4 to 5 hours.
The horseshoe-shaped single tube double-lane tunnel is the world’s longest highway tunnel above 10,000 feet. The tunnel connects Manali with Leh having an escape tunnel within the main tunnel because of the topography.
The decision to construct the strategic tunnel below the Rohtang Pass was taken on June 3, 2000, when Vajpayee was the Prime Minister thus, the union government in December last year named the strategic tunnel under the Rohtang Pass in Himachal Pradesh after former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in a tribute to him on his 95th birth anniversary.
Atal Tunnel is 9 Km long and will shorten the distance between Manali and Leh by 46 km and drive time by around seven hours after the inauguration. The tunnel is of strategic importance because it will provide all-weather connectivity to remote border areas of Himachal Pradesh and Ladakh, which otherwise remain cut-off from the rest of the country for about six months during winters.
Atal tunnel provides great safety measures such as a telephone facility on every 150 meters, fire hydrant on every 60 meters, an emergency exit on every 500 meters, turning cavern on every 2.2 km, air quality monitoring on every one km, broadcasting system, and automatic incident detection system with CCTV cameras on every 250 meters.
The tunnel has consumed 14,508 metric tonnes of steel and 2,37,596 metric tonnes of cement, and excavated out 14 lakh cubic meters soil and rocks, using the drill and blast technique for excavation and the New Austrian Tunnelling method for construction.
Apart from this, it will give a boost to tourism in Lahaul-Spiti, creating employment opportunities.
