ATAL TUNNEL

Description

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Context

Atal Tunnel has officially been certified by World Book of Records, as the ‘World’s Longest Highway Tunnel above 10,000 Feet’.

About

Atal Tunnel (also known as Rohtang Tunnel) is a highway tunnel built under the Rohtang Pass in the eastern Pir Panjal range of the Himalayas on the Leh-Manali Highway in Himachal Pradesh.
At a length of 9.02 km, it is the longest highway single-tube tunnel above 10,000 feet (3,048 m) in the world.

Significance

The tunnel reduces the travel time and overall distance between Manali and Keylong on the way to Leh.
The tunnel, besides offering the Armed Forces a strategic advantage by providing an alternate link to the critical Ladakh Sector, has also been a boon for the residents of Lahaul & Spiti District in Himachal Pradesh.
The region has seen an unprecedented increase in the arrival of tourists, and in a little more than a year, the valley and the state have witnessed growth in the socio-economic domains.
The Atal Tunnel is destined to play a defining role in the future development of the region.

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With the existing Atal Tunnel and after the completion of under-construction Shingo La Tunnel, which is targeted to be completed by 2024, both the Leh-Manali Highway and the Nimmu–Padum–Darcha road routes will become all-weather roads.

Shingo-La (also known as Shinku La) is a mountain pass in India, on the border between Ladakh and Himachal Pradesh. This pass may be considered as an entry point to Lugnak Valley in Zanskar. The pass is on a long-distance footpath linking Zanskar and Lahaul.

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