Thursday, November 12, 2020
Governor Bandaru Dattatreya said that the Atal Tunnel would take tourism of the Rohtang region to new heights. Dattatreya reached Atal Tunnel on the second day of his two-day visit to Kullu and Lahaul- Spiti districts.
The Governor took part in skiing near north portal of Atal tunnel at Sissu in tribal district Lahaul Spiti.
The Governor stated that the engineering of this tunnel is supreme. It is the longest tunnel in the world at a height of more than 10,000 feet. He congratulated the officials and engineers of Border Roads Organization for building this state-of-the-art tunnel.
The Atal Tunnel comprises telephone connection at every 150 m for emergency communication, fire hydrant mechanism at every 60 m, auto incident detection system with CCTV cameras at every 250 m, air quality monitoring at every one km, lighting/exit signs at every 25 m, broadcasting system throughout the tunnel and cameras at every 60 m.
The Governor said that the tunnel will provide all-weather connectivity to the people of tribal district Lahaul-Spiti and Pangi region in Chamba district.
He said that earlier Lahaul Spiti used to be cut off from the rest of the world for almost six months in winter due to heavy snowfall at 13,050 feet high Rohtang Pass, which is the gateway to Lahaul on the Manali-Leh highway.
“The opening of the Atal tunnel for traffic and increase in tourism activities in the region would generate employment opportunities for the local youth,” the Governor added.
The geographical conditions on both sides of this tunnel connecting two districts are entirely different. On entering the Lahaul Spiti at the north portal, one gets to see a wonderful view of nature and such a rare scene is barely available anywhere else in the world.
Tags: Atal Tunnel, Himachal tourism
