Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur revealed that the 8.8km Rohtang Tunnel, renamed Atal Tunnel, will be opened by the end of June 2020 and will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The government decided to honour the contribution of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee by naming the Strategic Tunnel under Rohtang Pass after him on December 25, 2019, which happens to be his birthday. The historic decision to construct a strategic tunnel below the Rohtang Pass was taken on June 03, 2000 when late Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the Prime Minister. 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 horseshoe shaped tunnel at an altitude of over 3,000 m in the Pir Panjal range will enable an all-weather road link across the snow-capped Rohtang Pass, helping Indian security forces to stock up on crucial supplies and ammunition that gets cut off due to bad weather in winter.

Being built on the Leh-Manali Highway, it will also reduce the road distance by nearly 46 km and will save up to 5 hours in travel time between Manali and Keylong.  Click here and in/32 for tunnelbuilder archive. Visit https://pib.gov.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=196098.

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