Modi to open Rohtang tunnel in September-end

Dharamsala, August 6

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to inaugurate the 8.8-km Rohtang tunnel, being built on the Leh-Manali highway, in the last week of September, Chief Minister

Jai Ram Thakur said here on Thursday.

He said that the tunnel would give all-weather connectivity to the remote and border areas of the state. The strategically important project was being completed at a cost of around Rs 3,200 crore, he added.

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to inaugurate the tunnel, which was a dream of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, in the last week of September. It will give all-weather connectivity to remote and border areas,” he told reporters here. This is one of the longest road tunnels in the country and is being built at an elevation of 10,171 feet under Rohtang Pass in the eastern Pir Panjal range of the Himalayas. It will reduce the distance between Manali and Keylong in Lahaul and Spiti district by around 45 km.

He said that the state government was cooperating with the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) to develop helipads in areas bordering China. — PTI