The name of India’s most important strategic importance Atal Tunnel Rohtang, prepared with state-of-the-art technology, has been recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records. The Guinness Book of World Records officially recognized the Atal Tunnel as the longest traffic tunnel in the world, passing at an altitude of 10044 feet above sea level. The length of this tunnel is 9.02 km. Director General of Border Roads Organization (BRO) Lt Gen Rajeev Choudhary received the award. It has been built by the Border Roads Organization over a period of about 10 years by penetrating the Pir Panjal peaks of the Himalayas. Indian and Austrian companies Straubeg and Afcon also collaborated in the construction of the tunnel.
The tunnel construction was announced by the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in the year 2002 at Keylong, the headquarters of the tribal district of Lahaul-Spiti. During that time the cost of the tunnel was estimated to be around Rs 1500 crore, but Rs 3600 crore has been spent on the construction of the tunnel. After the construction of the Atal Tunnel, the distance from Manali to Leh, adjacent to the China border, decreased by about 45 km. At the same time, the journey of this route has been reduced by at least five hours. With this, the tribal region Lahaul, which was closed due to snowfall in the winter season, has joined the country for 12 months. Atal Tunnel Rohtang was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 3 October 2020. Since then, Atal Tunnel has become the first choice for tourists across the country.
