On 03/10/2020 Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated the 9.02 km Atal tunnel in Rohtang, in the Pir Panjal range of Himalayas at an altitude of 3000 m (10,000 Feet) from the Mean Sea Level (MSL).
The Prime Minister travelled in the tunnel from the South Portal to the North Portal and also visited the emergency exit tunnel that was built into the main tunnel itself. The tunnel - built on the Leh-Manali Highway - connects Manali to Lahaul-Spiti valley and will reduce the road distance by 46 Kms between Manali and Leh and the time by about 4 to 5 hours. Before the tunnel was built the valley was cut off for about 6 months each year owing to heavy snowfall.
The South Portal (SP) of Atal Tunnel is located at a distance of 25 Km from Manali at an altitude of 3060 m, while the North Portal (NP) of the tunnel is located near village Teling, Sissu, in Lahaul Valley at an altitude of 3071 m. It is a horseshoe shaped, single tube, double lane tunnel, it has an overhead clearance of 5.525 m. It is 10.5-m wide and has a 3.6 x 2.25 m fire proof emergency exit tunnel built into the main tunnel itself.
Atal Tunnel has been designed for traffic density of upto 3000 cars per day and 1500 trucks per day with max speed of 80 km/hr. The E&M system includes semi transverse ventilation system, SCADA controlled firefighting, illumination and monitoring system.
The tunnel has several safety features built into it: tunnel entry barriers at both portals, telephone connections at every 150 m for emergency communication, fire hydrant mechanisms at every 60 m, auto incident detection system with CCTV cameras at every 250 m, air quality monitoring at every 1 Km, evacuation lighting / exit signs at every 25 m, broadcasting system throughout the , tunnel, fire rated Dampers at every 50 m, cameras at every 60 m.
The historic decision to construct a strategic tunnel below the Rohtang Pass was taken on June 03, 2000 when late Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the Prime Minister. The foundation stone for the Access Road to the South Portal of the tunnel was laid on May 26, 2002. The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) worked relentlessly to overcome major geological, terrain and weather challenges that included the most difficult stretch of the 587-metre Seri Nalah Fault Zone. The breakthrough from both ends was achieved in October. For further information please click here for the video, here and in/32 for tunnelbuilder archive. Visit https://pib.gov.in/PressReleseDetail.aspx?PRID=1661260. 41/20.
