Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday inaugurated the Atal Tunnel at Rohtang in Himachal Pradesh. The Atal Rohtang Tunnel connects Manali to Lahaul-Spiti valley and will be available to the commuters throughout the year. It reduces the road distance between Manali and Leh in Ladakh by 46 km and travelling time by four to five hours.
Atal Tunnel, described as the longest highway tunnel in the world, is built with “ultra-modern specifications” in the Pir Panjal range of Himalayas at an altitude of 10,000 feet from the Mean Sea Level (MSL).
For the inauguration of the Atal Rohtang Tunnel or the Atal Tunnel, PM Narendra Modi was accompanied by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat, and Army Chief General MM Naravane.
PM Narendra Modi inaugurated the Atal Tunnel at around 10:30 am along with Rajnath Singh.
#WATCH Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurates 9.02 km long Atal Tunnel that connects Manali to Lahaul-Spiti valley #HimachalPradesh pic.twitter.com/zAjGQj1sHH
— ANI (@ANI) October 3, 2020
WHAT IS THE SHAPE, LENGTH OF THE ATAL TUNNEL?
The Atal Tunnel is a horse-shoe shaped single tube double lane 9.02-km-long tunnel that goes under the Rohtang Pass in the eastern Pir Panjal range on the Leh-Manali highway. Atal Rohtang Tunnel is the longest highway tunnel in the world.
It connects Manali to Lahaul-Spiti valley, which was earlier cut off for about six months due to heavy snowfall, throughout the year.
WILL ATAL TUNNEL REDUCE ROAD DISTANCE AND TRAVEL TIME?
The Atal Rohtang Tunnel will reduce the travel time by four to five hours. The tunnel also reduces the road distance between Manali and Leh by 46 km.
AT WHAT ALTITUDE IS ATAL TUNNEL LOCATED?
Atal Tunnel is built at an altitude of 3000 meters i.e., 10,000 feet.
The South Portal (SP) of Atal Tunnel is located at a distance of 25 Km from Manali at an altitude of 3060 metres, while the North Portal (NP) of the tunnel is located near village Teling, Sissu, in Lahaul Valley at an altitude of 3071 metres.
HOW MANY VEHICLES CAN PLY ON ATAL TUNNEL IN A DAY?
The Atal Rohtang Tunnel is designed for traffic density of up to 3,000 cars and 1,500 trucks per day with a max pace of 80 km per hour.
WHAT ARE THE SAFETY FEATURES OF ATAL TUNNEL?
The Atal Tunnel has many safety features built into it. Some of these are listed below:
1. It has entry barriers at both portals.
2. It has an auto incident detection system with CCTV cameras installed at every 250 metres, emergency exits every 500 metres and a turning cavity every 2.2 km.
3. It has telephone connections at every 150 metres for emergency communication.
4. Fire hydrant mechanisms at every 60 metres.
4. Evacuation lighting/exit signs at every 25 metres.
ATAL TUNNEL MAP
Credit: PIB
DID YOU KNOW?
The Atal Tunnel was earlier known as the Rohtang tunnel. On Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s 95th birth anniversary on December 24, 2019, the central government decided to name the Rohtang tunnel as Atal Tunnel to honour former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
The decision to construct the tunnel in Rohtang was taken in 2000 when Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the prime minister.
The Atal Rohtang Tunnel took 14,508 metric tonnes of steel; 2,37,596 metric tonnes of cement and the new Austrian tunnelling technique for construction.