Driving Naari Programme launched in Chandigarh
The Atal Tunnel built under Rohtang Pass on the Leh-Manali Highway in Himachal Pradesh will be closed for vehicles twice a week from 7 am to 9.30 am for regular maintenance works, news agency ANI reported.
No vehicle movement will be allowed in the Atal Tunnel on Mondays and Thursdays for two and a half hours in the morning from December 20 onwards. Notably, the tunnel has been shut for maintenance work previously as well.
The Rohtang Tunnel, more commonly known as the Atal Tunnel, was named after former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Built at 3,000 metres above sea level between Himachal Pradesh’s Manali and Leh in Ladakh, this 9.02 km-long tunnel is the longest highway single-tube tunnel (above 10,000 feet) in the world.
Not only does the tunnel shorten the distance of 474 km between Manali and Leh by 46 km, thereby reducing travel time by two and half hours, but it also helps connect Lahaul and Spiti in the winters. That apart, it is of strategic importance as it helps accelerate troop mobility to strategic frontiers in Jammu and Kashmir.
The Atal tunnel has a capacity to ply 3,000 vehicles daily at a speed of up to 80 km per hour regardless of the weather condition.
