Post News Network
New Delhi : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 3, 2020, dedicated to the nation the World’s longest Highway tunnel – Atal Tunnel at its south portal in Manali, Himachal Pradesh. The 9.02 km long tunnel connects Manali to Lahaul-Spiti valley throughout the year. Earlier, the valley was cut off for about 6 months each year owing to heavy snowfall.
The Tunnel is built with ultra-modern specifications in the Pir Panjal range of Himalayas at an altitude of 3,000 Mtrs (10,000 Feet) from the Mean Sea Level (MSL). It reduces the road distance by 46 ketween Manali and Leh and the time by about 4 to 5 hours. It has state of the art electromechanical systems including semi transverse ventilation, SCADA controlled fire fighting, illumination and monitoring systems.
PM Modi travelled in the tunnel from the South Portal to the North Portal and also visited the emergency egress tunnel that was built into the main tunnel itself. He also witnessed a pictorial exhibition on “The Making of Atal Tunnel” on the occasion.
In his address, the Prime Minister termed the day as historic as it not only fructifies the vision of the former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee but also the decades old wish and dream of crores of people from the region. He said Atal Tunnel is going to be a lifeline for a large part of Himachal Pradesh as well as the new Union Territory of Leh-Ladakh and would reduce the distance between Manali and Keylong by 3-4 hours. He added that now parts of Himachal Pradesh and Leh-Ladakh will always be connected with the rest of the country and would witness speedier economic progress, according to a PIB release.
The PM He said farmers, horticulturalists and youth will now also have easy access to the capital of Delhi and other markets. He said that such border connectivity projects will also aid the security forces in ensuring regular supplies to them and also in their patrolling. He said Atal Tunnel is also going to give new strength to India’s border infrastructure and would be a living proof of world-class border connectivity.
The Prime Minister said Atal ji laid the foundation of the approach road for this tunnel in 2002. He said after Atal ji’s government, the work was so neglected that only 1,300 metres i.e less than 1.5 kms of tunnel could be built till 2013-14 i.e only about 300 metres each year. Experts then explained that if it continued at that pace then the tunnel would be completed only in 2040. The Prime Minister said that the Government then fast tracked the project and the construction went on at a speed of 1,400 metres each year. He said the project could be completed in 6 years where the estimate was 26 years.
He said in 2005, the estimated cost for the construction of the tunnel was about Rs 900 crores. But due to continuous delays, today it has been completed after spending more than 3 times i.e. Rs 3,200 crore. The Prime Minister said many important projects were meted out the same treatment as the Atal Tunnel.
He said work on the Bogibeel Bridge also started during Atal ji’s government but work on it languished later. The Bridge provides key connectivity between Arunachal and the North East region. He said the work gained unprecedented momentum after 2014 and was inaugurated about two years ago on the occasion of Atal ji’s birthday. He said Atal ji also laid the foundation stone of Kosi Mahasetu to connect two major regions of Mithilanchal in Bihar. After 2014, the Government expedited the work of Kosi Mahasetu and the bridge was inaugurated a few weeks ago.
The Prime Minister said the situation now changed and in the last six years the border infrastructure – be it roads, bridges or tunnels- is being developed with full impetus and great speed. He listed many initiatives of the Government to take care of the needs of the defence forces like implementation of One rank One pension scheme, procurement of a modern fighter plane, procurement of ammunition, modern rifles, bulletproof jackets, harsh winter equipment which were laid on hold by the previous Government. He said governments earlier did not have the political will to do so and said this situation is changing in the country today.