Prime Minister Narendra Modi On Saturday inaugurated Atal Tunnel passing through the Rohtang pass in Himachal Pradesh.
This tunnel is world’s longest high-altitude tunnel named after the former Prime Minister Bharat Ratna Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
Inaugurating the spectacular #AtalTunnel. https://t.co/Npiw0qSO5A
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) October 3, 2020
The 9.02 kilometres long engineering marvel connects Manali in Himachal Pradesh to Lahaul-Spiti throughout the year. In a normal situation, the area remains cut off for about 6 months each year owing to heavy snowfall and inclement weather.
Atal Tunnel is located in the Pir Panjal range of Himalayas and at an altitude of 10,000 Feet from the Mean Sea Level (MSL). The tunnel is set to reduce road distance by 46 kilometres between Leh and Manali, by reducing the journey time by around 4 to 5 hours.
The historic decision to construct a strategic tunnel below the Rohtang Pass was taken by then PM Vajpayee on June 3, 2000.
The Union Cabinet in 2019 decided to rename the Rohtang Tunnel as Atal Tunnel to honour the contribution made by Vajpayee.
The feasibility study for the Atal Tunnel was first done in 1990. The foundation stone for the access road to the south portal of the tunnel was laid on May 6, 2002. The first blast took place in 2010 and the last blast in 2017. The tunnel was constructed using drill and blast NATM (New Austria Tunnelling Method) techniques.
