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Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday inaugurated the strategically important Atal tunnel in Himachal Pradesh which connects Manali to Lahaul-Sapiti and reduces the time taken to travel to Leh by 5 hours.
The Atal Tunnel, which is the world's longest highway tunnel has been hailed as an engineering and scientific wonder! The 9.02 km long mammoth tunnel has been designed for a traffic density of 3,000 cars and 1,500 trucks per day with a maximum speed limit of 80 kms per hour. Further, the tunnel is packed with high tech attributes like electronic signboards, helpline contact points along with air quality testing systems and escape tunnels.
Prime Minister Modi was accompanied by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat and Army Chief General MM Naravane, as well as Himachal Chief Minister Jairam Thakur during his inaugural visit.
Describing the moment as a "historic day" and one that heralded the realisation of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's dream - the tunnel has been named after him.
"The Atal tunnel will give new strength to India's border infrastructure. It is an example of world-class border connectivity. There have been demands to improve border infrastructure but, for a long time, such projects either couldn't get out of the planning stage or got stuck midway," - PM Modi
The decision to construct a strategic tunnel below the Rohtang Pass in Himachal was taken on June 3, 2000, when Atal Bihari Vajpayee was Prime Minister. The foundation stone for the access road to the South Portal was laid on May 26, 2002.
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