At a historic ceremony in New Delhi on Wednesday, the World Book of Records certified the Atal Tunnel as the ‘World’s Longest Highway Tunnel above 10,000 Feet’, announced the Ministry of Defence .
Director General of Border Roads Organisation Lt Gen Rajeev Chaudhry accepted the award in recognition of the exemplary performance of the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) in building this engineering marvel linking Manali to Lahaul-Spiti.
The World Book of Records UK catalogues and verifies extraordinary records around the world with authentic certification.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated the Atal Tunnel to the nation on October 3, 2020. Located on the Manali-Leh Highway, Atal Tunnel is a strategically-important 9.02 km tunnel that runs under the Rohtang Pass and was constructed under challenging conditions of freezing temperatures and very difficult terrain.
During the winter season prior to the tunnel’s construction, the highway used to remain closed for six months, thus isolating Lahaul and Spiti from the rest of India.
This tunnel has reduced the distance between Manali and Sarchu by 46 km and shortened travel times by four to five hours. This provides all-weather connectivity on the Manali to Leh route.
The construction of the Pir Panjal Tunnel in the Himalayas involved not only technical and engineering skills but human endurance and machine efficacy as well. The tunnel was built in extremely harsh and challenging terrain, where temperatures in winter dipped to -25 degrees Celsius and often reached temperatures of nearly 45 degrees Celsius inside. Karmyogis of the BRO faced challenges such as fragile geology and seepage of Seri Nala, which led to flooding of the Atal Tunnel, as well as high overburden and excessive snowfall.
According to BRO’s motto of ‘Connecting Places, Connecting People’, its Atal Tunnel in Rohtang is an engineering marvel.
Apart from providing the Armed Forces with a strategic advantage by providing an alternate route to the critical Ladakh Sector, the tunnel has also been a boon to the residents of Lahaul and Spiti in Himachal Pradesh.
Tourists have visited the region at an unprecedented rate, and the valley and the state have seen a change in the socio-economic sphere in a short amount of time. The Atal Tunnel is believed to play an important role in the future development of the region.
