Kullu (Himachal Pradesh): After ten years of hard work of the country's finest engineers and labourers, Rohtang Atal Tunnel is now ready for inauguration. The idea of constructing this tunnel is about 160 years old, which is going to materialize this year.
India to inaugurate world's longest tunnel The world's longest tunnel - the Atal tunnel connecting Manali to Leh has finally been complete after 10 years. First, it was to be prepared in 6 years, but after 4 years more time was added to the project. Named after former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the tunnel will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Modi on October 3. Last year, PM Modi announced on the 95th birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee that the tunnel being built near Rohtang in Himachal Pradesh will be known as Atal Tunnel.
Designs made in this way
According to the website of the Snowy Mountain Engineering Company (SMEC), the Australian company that designed the tunnel, the first idea to build a tunnel on the Rohtang Pass was put forward by the Moravian Mission in 1860. This longest tunnel in the world, built at an altitude of 3,000 meters above sea level, for around Rs 3200 crores, will provide year-long connectivity to the part of Ladakh.
Qualities of the tunnel
The Atal tunnel is more than 10,000 feet long. It will reduce the distance between Manali and Leh by 46 km.
- The Atal Tunnel connecting Manali to Leh is the longest highway tunnel in the world. It has CCTV cameras installed every 60 meters. Not only this, but the emergency exit has also been made every 500 meters inside the tunnel.
Due to this tunnel, the distance between Manali to Leh will be reduced by 46 km, which will save 4 hours of travel time.
Fire hydrants have been installed to avoid any kind of untoward incident. Its width is 10.5 meters. It also has 1-meter pavements built on both sides.
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- Workers had to face many challenges during the construction of this tunnel. One end of the tunnel is in the north near Rohtang where work could be done for only 5 months in a year.
The cost of the Atal Tunnel project increased from Rs 1,700 in 2010 to Rs 3,200 crore by September 2020.
Earlier there was a plan to make rope-way
However, during the tenure of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of the country, there was a proposal to build a ropeway at Rohtang Pass. Later, under the government of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, the project of construction of a road for providing year-round connectivity between Manali and Leh was made, but this project got tangible in the government of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
Distances have decreased
This 9.02 km long tunnel in the eastern Pir Panjal mountain range is on the Leh - Manali highway. It is about 10.5 meters wide and 5.52 meters high. The maximum speed of a car within the tunnel can be 80 km / h. This tunnel will connect Manali to Lahaul and Spiti Valley. This will reduce the distance of 46 kilometres on the Manali - Rohtang Pass - Sarchu - Leh highway and the travel time will also be reduced by four to five hours.
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At the same time, it takes about 5 hours to reach Lahaul and Spiti Valley from Manali Valley, now it will be completed in about 10 minutes. Also, it is nothing less than a boon for the people of Lahaul and Spiti Valley, which were cut off from the rest of the country for about six months in winter every year during heavy snowfall time.
Strategically important
This will provide a year-round usable route for military movement in the strategically important Ladakh region. This horseshoe-shaped tunnel has created many records in the history of engineering of the country and there are many such works which were carried out in this project for the first time. This single tunnel will have a double lane.
