Shimla: With Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurating the 9.02 kilometres-long Atal Tunnel on October 3, the economy of Himachal Pradesh is poised to improve significantly. It will provide strategic advantages to the Indian Army and help boost the overall economy of Himachal Pradesh through various business and social sectors.
Once the tunnel is commissioned, tribal tourism and adventure tourism in the State will grow, making Manali one of the best tourism destinations in North India and tourism a significant contributor to Himachal Pradesh's economy. Currently, the tourism sector contributes 6.9 per cent to Himachal Pradesh's economy.
The Lahaul Valley, which used to remain cut-off from the rest of the country for six months during every year, will now remain open for traffic throughout the year. Lahaul's potatoes and other local products will now easily reach the markets. Also, it also speculated that migration of local people to Kullu and other places will taper with the tunnel open. According to Dr. Ramlal Markanda, the Minister of Technical Education and the MLA of Lahaul-Spiti, the tourism sector will get the most benefit.
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The Himachal Pradesh government has set a target of hosting two crore tourists in the State in a year. If we look at the figures for the last five years, on average, twenty-five million tourists visit the state. The number of tourists will increase when Lahaul Valley will remain connected to the rest of the world throughout the year.
Manali is known as the best tourism destination in the state. There are a large number of private hotels and resorts in Manali and Naggar, including the hotels of Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation. The occupancy rate in hotels is also expected to rise following the inauguration of Atal Tunnel.
Besides, it will become easier to reach district headquarters Keylong in Lahaul valley from Manali. The journey from Manali to Keylong will be of two hours. The tunnel will reduce the journey by around 46 kilometres. With the tunnel opened for traffic, the distance between Manali to Keylong will be just 70 kilometres.
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The State government is expecting the Atal tunnel itself to become a tourist attraction as visitors may want to see the engineering marvel. Shasur Buddhist Gompa, Drilburi Gompa, Triloknath temple and Mrikula Mata temple, Raja Ghepan temple are some of the major attractions in Lahaul Valley. Besides, there are several uniquely beautiful trekking trails in the valley. The natural beauty of Chandra Valley, Pattan Valley, Gahar Valley and Jispa is similarly astonishing.
It was the late prime minister Indira Gandhi who envisioned the tunnel originally. But it was under late prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee the work of the tunnel commenced. Vajpayee had announced the tunnel on June 2, 2002, at Keylong. The road to the south portal of Atal tunnel was also constructed during Vajpayee's tenure. It has now been recorded as the longest tunnel in the world.
