''Atal Tunnel'' in Rohtang would be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi by the end of September this year. 8.8-km-long tunnel ' would be developed as a major tourism attraction as well.

The union government in December last year named the strategic tunnel under the Rohtang Pass in Himachal Pradesh after former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in a tribute to him on his 95th birth anniversary.
The tunnel will be the world''s longest above an altitude of 3,000 metres and will reduce the distance between Manali and Leh by 46 km. Once thrown open, the tunnel will provide all-weather connectivity to remote border areas of Himachal Pradesh and Ladakh which otherwise remain cut-off from the rest of the country for about six months during winters.

India, which has been making giant leaps in the development of basic infrastructure, the new tunnel getting ready on Himalayan valley will be a great asset.
The persons who is going to be benefitted most will be the army men guarding the border since Manali-Leh road will have to be closed for months during winter season and this the most convenient path to take arms and ammunition to the border posts.
The tunnel path will also be very useful to people residing in this are as half of the days in a year there will be road blocks due to avalanche and landslides.
Taking into consideration the current Chinese aggression in Ladakh, this tunnel will be very useful to our army.
The tunnel was a dream even from the time of the first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. The project didn’t take off due to various challenges for its construction. Laterit received new lease of life in 1983 when Indira Gandhi was the prime minister.
But following the unexpected death of Indira Gandhi, the project remained on paper
Later, it was revived when Atal Bihari Vajpaee was the prime minister but he could not see it materialising. In 2010 during the tenure of the first UPA government, UPA chairman Sonia Gandhi laid the foundation stone for the project. But now the responsibility to dedicate it to the nation has fallen on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Modi government, which has been very particular about implementing infrastructure development projects, has shown interest in completing high way projects in a time-bound manner.
There is one thing about the tunnel that Malayalis can take pride in. The chief engineer of BRO which is overseeing the project is Kannur native Purushothaman. People working under him have done a commendable job in completing the project even in adverse conditions.

When nine-metre long tunnel built at Rothang pass turns a wonder, we will have to bring to our mind the case of Thrissur Kuthiran tunnel road, which has dragged on for more than ten years.
Though there was an announcement that the tunnel will be opened on July 15, it didn’t happen.
The tunnel being built at Kuthiran in Wadakkanchery doesn’t have even one km length but the construction of the tunnel way, which is known as the first tunnel path, got disrupted many times, due to some reason or other.
The concept of this tunnel actually had taken birth for reducing the traffic block along Thrissur-Palakkad national highway.
Delay in public works is not new to Kerala.
In Alappuzha, the construction of a bypass which comes just below 5 km has been on for the past 30 years.
There are MPs who have gone to Parliament from Kerala, saying “I will get it right now”.
Though two Lok Sabha elections have come and gone after that, bypass is yet to near completion. The last report heard was that it will get completed in the coming March.
The politicians can justify delays, playing with the words, as there are March and April every year.