The Atal Tunnel in Himachal has become a tourist hotspot with numerous motorists already flocking to the tunnel and over-speeding, racing and even clicking selfies while driving, thus inevitably causing accidents.
Our country has gained a new engineering marvel to boast about and that’s the Atal Tunnel in Rohtang. The 9.02 km long Atal Tunnel in Himachal Pradesh was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 3, 2020. This new tunnel will provide all-weather access to regions in Ladakh and Lahual-Spiti valley and also significantly reduces travel time and distance over the older Manali-Rohtang route. However, us being Indians, we have to jump in to already misuse our facilities.
There has already been incidents of rash and negligent driving and ‘indecent behaviors’ by tourists since the tunnel opened doors just four days ago. In just the first three days of the tunnel being in operation, three accidents have already been reported from the Atal Tunnel. The Atal Tunnel has become a new tourist hotspot in Himachal Pradesh and the Border Roads Organization (BRO) and district authorities are already facing new concerns with numerous motorists over-speeding and racing in the new tunnel.
“Three accidents were reported in a single day after the tunnel was inaugurated by the Prime Minister on October 3. Showing a complete disregard for traffic rules, tourists and motorists have been clicking selfies while riding,” Brigadier KP Purushothaman , BRO Chief Engineer, Atal Tunnel was quoting as saying by the report. One BRO official also pointed out that these tourists mainly hailed from Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh. The BRO has now requested police deployment in the area to prevent further accidents.
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The Atal Tunnel is the longest single-tube tunnel of its type built at an elevation of 10,000ft. This 9.2km tunnel reduces travel time from Manali to Leh by as much as five hours while distance is now reduced by 46 km. This new tunnel is expected to greatly boost tourism in the Ladakh and Spiti region as these places would be usually inaccessible for about 6 months in the winter season due to heavy snowfall in Rohtang Pass. The Atal Tunnel is also the first tunnel in India to have an escape tunnel within the main tunnel, something that’s every normal internationally.
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The decision to built the Atal tunnel was first taken in the year 2000 by by then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and thus the name. The foundation stone was laid in 2002. While its a genuine engineering marvel and something of great convenience to us, we must be more responsible while enjoying such facilities. The tunnel is said to have a capacity to handle 3,000 cars and 1,500 trucks per day.
