PM Modi to inaugurate the Atal Rohtang Tunnel on October 3; know all about it

On October 3, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the 9.2-km long strategic Atal Rohtang Tunnel. Also known as Atal Tunnel, it passes through Rohtang pass andis built at an altitude of about 10,000 feet. It is the first tunnel in the world in terms of altitude near Rohtang Pass in Himachal Pradesh. This tunnel is also important because it will increase India's strength along the Pakistan-China border. With its launch, the area of ​​Ladakh will remain fully connected throughout the year. It has been named 'Atal Rohtang Tunnel' in memory of former Prime Minister Bharat Ratna Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Atal Rohtang Tunnel

At the start of construction of this tunnel, it was designed as an 8.8 km long tunnel, but when the GPS reading was taken after construction, the tunnel length was 9.2 km.

This 10 meters wide tunnel has been built by connecting Rohtang Pass at an altitude of 10,171 feet.

The Border Roads Organization (BRO) has built this tunnel in the shape of a horseshoe at a cost of about Rs 4,000 crore.

The distance between Manali and Leh will be reduced by 46 kilometers. The journey from Manali Valley to Lahaul and Spiti Valley usually takes more than five hours, will now be easier.

It will also be an alternative route to reach Rohtang Pass which is situated at an altitude of 13 thousand 50 feet.

This tunnel, built in the Pir Panjal mountain range of the Himalayas, also has an emergency route that has been built under the main tunnel. This will provide an emergency exit in case of any untoward incident.

Telephone facility available at every 150 meters in the tunnel, fire hydrant every 60 meters, emergency exit every 500 meters, cave in every 2.2 km. air quality monitoring system i.e. air quality sensors are installed at each kilometer. 

A broadcasting system with CCTV cameras and automatic event detection system is installed every 250 meters in the tunnel.

5000 vehicles will be able to pass through it at the maximum speed of 80 km per hour through the Atal Rohtang Tunnel.

India's grip in Ladakh will be stronger

During the snowfall, Ladakh is cut from the rest of the country for about six months from November to April. Even during the snowy days, this tunnel will easily reach the Pakistan and China border, because the Leh-Manali highway is bordering the two countries.

India's hold in the strategic region of Ladakh will be further strengthened. This Atal Rohtang Tunnel will enable the safe movement of military vehicles to the Ladakh border through this and there will be no problem in providing logistics to the troops. This tunnel will increase the vigilance, promptness, and strength of the forward posts along the Indian border.

Delay due to COVID-19 pandemic

Construction of this tunnel started on 28 June 2010, which was to be completed by 2019 but due to labour and materials not available due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a slight delay in the completion of the project but now it is ready to be inaugurated. 

About 3,000 contract workers and 650 regular employees worked 24 hours in shifts to built this tunnel. During the construction of this tunnel, 8 lakh cubic meters of stone and soil were extracted here, in the summer, it was excavated five meters per day, but in winter it was reduced to half a meter because working in minus 30 degrees temperature becomes very difficult.