Atal Tunnel
✅After delays spanning almost over a decade, the Atal Tunnel is all set
to be inaugurated next month.
Details of the project
✅Named after the former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the Atal Rohtang tunnel connects Manali in Kullu district and Himachal Pradesh’s Lahaul-Spiti district.
✅The single tube bi-lane tunnel, 5.5 metres high, was bored through
solid rock nearly two kilometres under the Rohtang Pass.
✅It is 8,802-metres long, making it the world’s longest tunnel above an
altitude of 3,000 metres. The work on the project is entrusted with the Border
Roads Organisation (BRO).
✅The project was to be completed in February 2015, but water ingress
from Seri Nullah, ban on rock mining and delay in allotment of land needed for
quarrying, and loose rock strata in the middle caused the slow progress.
✅When the work picked up pace near the south portal, water from the
Seri drain and the mountain silt seemed relentless, severely complicating
work. Then technical arrangements were made to control silting by creating a
separate route for the drainage water.
✅The BRO used a drill and blast technique for excavation, coupled with
the New Austrian Tunnelling Method for construction.
✅Cutting through the Pir Panjal range, the tunnel will reduce the
distance between Manali and Leh by 46 kms.
✅This part of the country remains cut-off for about six months in a
year because of heavy snow cover.
