Strategic Rohtang tunnel named after Vajpayee near completion: BRO chief

MANALI: With Prime Minister Narendra Modi likely to inaugurate the strategic Rohtang tunnel named after the late Atal Bihari Vajpayee next month, Border Roads Organisation (BRO) Director General Lt Gen Harpal Singh on Saturday reviewed its progress.

Due to its strategic importance and the fact that it is nearing completion, the progress of the tunnel work is being closely monitored personally by the DGBR (Director General Border Roads) through daily briefings and interactions with the stakeholders, an official statement by the BRO said after Singh's second visit within a month.

On the eve of the birth anniversary of former Prime Minister late Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the Central government on December 24, 2019 had announced to name the Rohtang tunnel, a road link between Kullu and the landlocked Lahaul Valley, near here after Vajpayee.

The late BJP stalwart had laid the foundation stone for the tunnel in 2003 that would not only provide all-weather connectivity to the landlocked Lahaul-Spiti, but will also attract tourists to the district.

This has ensured that the people of Lahaul will be able to use the tunnel this winter getting the much awaited freedom from the winter blockage of the Rohtang Pass, said the statement.

The final length of the tunnel is 9,020 m. (IANS) 

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