Rohtang tunnel
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Location | Himachal Pradesh, India |
| Coordinates | 32°23′54″N 77°08′51″E / 32.3982°N 77.1475°ECoordinates: 32°23′54″N 77°08′51″E / 32.3982°N 77.1475°E |
| Route | Leh-Manali Highway |
| Operation | |
| Work begun | 28 June 2010 |
| Operator | Border Roads Organisation |
| Traffic | Motor vehicles |
| Technical | |
| Length | 8.8 kilometres (5.5 mi) |
| No. of lanes | Two (one in each direction) |
| Operating speed | 80 km/h (50 mph) |
| Width | 10 metres (33 ft) |
Rohtang Tunnel is a tunnel being built under the Rohtang Pass in the eastern Pir Panjal range of the Himalayas on the Leh-Manali Highway. With 8.8 km (5.5 mi) length, the tunnel will be one of the longest road tunnel in India (the longest road tunnel in India is the Chenani-Nashri Tunnel or Patnitop tunnel north of Udhampur) and is expected to reduce the distance between Manali and Keylong by about 60 km (37.3 mi) The tunnel is at 3,100 metres (10,171 ft) elevation whereas the Rohtang pass is at 3,978 metres (13,051 ft) elevation 51 km (32 mi) away from Manali. The pass receives heavy snowfall and blizzards during winter months and is open for road traffic for only four months in a year. Lying on the Manali-Leh axis, this is one of the two routes to Ladakh. The other route through the Zoji La pass on the Srinagar-Drass-Kargil-Leh highway also gets blocked by snow for nearly four months in a year. These two routes are vital to feed military supplies into the sub-sector west (facing Aksai Chin) and the Siachen Glacier.
First time the Moravian Mission in 1860 has talked about the possibility of a tunnel through Rohtang Pass to reach Lahaul and later Pandit Nehru talked about a rope way to Rohtang Pass which again made a point of discussion among the local tribes. After almost 139 years of the first instance, when a childhood friend of a Lahaul resident Mr. Arjun Gopal became Prime Minister of India as Shri Atal Bihari Bajpai, the locals insisted Arjun Gopal to meet the Prime Minister and talk about Rohtang Tunnel. Then he moves with two of his companions Chhering Dorje and Abhay Chand to Delhi and after continuous discussions of about one year, finally Prime Minister Atal Bihari Bajpai agreed and visited headquarter of Lahaul in year 2000 June and declared the construction of Rohtang Tunnel.
Rohtang tunnel is not exactly under Rohtang pass; it is slightly west of the pass. The southern end (portal) of the tunnel is reached by turning left at Palchan, 10 km north of Manali on the way to Rohtang pass or about 40 km before Rohtang pass. After crossing Solang village, Dhundi is reached after 10 km. The south end of the tunnel is just north of Dhundi across the [[Bhaga River]Tributary of Chenab River]] at 32.3642° North and 77.1330° East coordinates.
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