Rs 150 cr allocated to check water seepage in Atal Tunnel: Himachal Deputy CM Mukesh Agnihotri

Tribune News Service

Mandi, October 5

Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri today inspected the Atal Tunnel at Rohtang in Lahaul and Spiti and interacted with officials of Border Roads Organisation (BRO). He was accompanied by Lahaul and Spiti MLA Ravi Thakur.

Agnihotri said water seepage inside the Atal Tunnel would be rectified at a cost of Rs 150 crore.

NHPC couldn’t find solution

• The Seri Nullah flows right above the Atal Tunnel at Rohtang and remains a headache for the BRO
• The responsibility to rectify seepage was entrusted to the NHPC last year, but no concrete solution was found

Last month, Lahaul and Spiti MLA Ravi Thakur had expressed concern over the continuing water seepage inside the Atal Tunnel. He had demanded early solution to the problem. The MLA said that the continuing water seepage caused icing of the road in winters, leading to accidents.

The 9.02-km-long tunnel built by piercing the Pir Panjal hills at a height of 10,000 feet above sea level earlier also witnessed leakage from the Seri Nullah that had delayed the construction of the tunnel by four years.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had inaugurated the tunnel on October 2, 2020. The Seri Nullah flows right above the Atal Tunnel, which still remains a headache for the BRO. It entrusted the responsibility of rectifying seepage to the NHPC last year, but no concrete solution could be worked out so far.

Meanwhile, the Deputy CM has urged the BRO to re-install the foundation stone of the Atal Tunnel, which was removed during construction. The foundation stone of the tunnel was laid in 2010 during the UPA regime.

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