The strategically-important 9.02-km Atal Tunnel at Rohtang has been completed at a cost of Rs 3,200 crore. Anil Kumar, Additional Director General, Border Roads Organisation (North-West), visited the tunnel yesterday night to have a look at the lighting system there. He checked the functionality of various systems of the tunnel. He was accompanied by BRO Joint Director Pankaj Sarswat. He took stock of the technical details and the progress of the finishing touches being given to the tunnel. Chief Engineer, BRO, Brig KP Purushothaman said that the tunnel was ready for inauguration. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to visit Manali to inaugurate the tunnel in the last week of September. He said that the tunnel provides a telephone facility at every 150 metres, fire hydrant every 60 metres, an emergency exit every 500 metres, turning cavern every 2.2 km, air quality monitoring at every 1 km, broadcasting system and an automatic incident detection system with CCTV cameras at every 250 metres. The tunnel will reduce
the length of the 479-km Manali-Leh national highway by 46 km and reduce the travel time by two hours. It will also be a boon to people of the Lahaul valley, who remain cut-off from the rest of the state for five to six months due to heavy snowfall at the 13,058-fee

FACILITIES OFFERED

• Phone facility at every 150 m.
• Fire hydrant at every 60 m.
• Emergency exit at every 500 m.
• Turning cavern at every 2.2 km.
• Air quality monitoring at every 1 km.
• Broadcasting and automatic incident detection system with CCTV cameras at every 250 .

Border Roads Organisation

BRO was conceived and raised in 1960 by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru for coordinating the speedy development of a network of roads in the North and the North Eastern border regions of the country. It works under the administrative control of the Ministry of Defence. It has diversified into a large spectrum of construction and development works comprising airfields, building projects, defence works and tunneling and has endeared itself to the people.