Saturday Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the Atal Tunnel in the Rohtang Pass which connects Manali with the Himachal Pradesh Lahaul-Spiti Valley.
The Atal Tunnel reduces the travel time from Manali to Leh by 4-5 hours. Manali is connected to the Lahaul-Spiti valley by the world's largest highway tunnel at altitudes. Due to heavy snowfall, the valley was formerly cut off for around six months per year.
Atal Bihari Vajpayee 's government in June 2000 took the decision to build the tunnel. The 9.02 km long tunnel was designed at an altitude of 3,000 metres from the average sea level with ultra-modern requirements in the Pir Panjal Range of the Himalayas. The Atal tunnel, the world's longest highway tunnel, reduces the distance between Manali and Leh by 46 km.
Atal Tunnel South Portal (SP) is at a distance of 25 kilometres from Manali, 3,060 metres above sea level and the North Portal (NP) is situated at 3,071 metres above sea level near Teling Village, in Sissu, Lahaul Valley.
It is a horseshoe-shaped double-lane single-tube tunnel with an 8-metre roadway and an overhead clearance of 5,525 metres.The tunnel is 10.5 metres wide and a 3.6x2.25 metre fireproof emergency egress tunnel has been built into the main tunnel itself, built for a traffic density of 3,000 cars per day and 1,500 trucks per day with a maximum speed of 80 km / hr.
It has a state-of-the-art electromechanical system including semi-transverse ventilation, firefighting operated by SCADA, lighting and monitoring system.Some of the main safety features installed into the Atal Tunnel are entry barriers at both north and south portals, telephone connexions at every 150 metres, CCTV cameras, exit signs at every 25 metres and broadcast system along the stretch.
The tunnel, built at a cost of about 3,300 crore, is extremely necessary from the country's defence point of view.The Border Roads Organization (BRO) carried out the majority of the construction.