Rohtang pass tunnel will boost accessibility, tourism

Solang, Himachal Pradesh: The construction of a tunnel under the Rohtang pass will give a boost to tourism in the region, facilitate better medical treatment and provide more avenues of employment to the youth, Congress president Sonia Gandhi said yesterday after laying its foundation stone.

"People will be able to meet their daily needs round the year. Medical treatment will be facilitated. Tourism will get a boost and youth will have more avenues of employment," Gandhi said at a rally here after starting the construction work of the 8.8-kilometre Rohtang tunnel.

The tunnel will enable year-round connectivity between Manali and the Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir.

Hilly states

She said the United Progressive Alliance government was committed to the development of hilly states like Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.

Pointing to her family's association with Himachal, she said former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru came for vacations to Manali and Himachal attained statehood while Indira Gandhi was the prime minister.

The Rohtang tunnel will ensure all-weather road connectivity to Lahaul and Spiti valleys of the Himalayan state which remain cut off from the rest of the country during the winter.

A multi-faith prayer meeting was organised before Gandhi inaugurated the excavation work of the project, expected to cost nearly Rs1.5 billion (Dh125 million). Gandhi, by initiating the construction work, gave wings to the idea her husband and then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi had conceived 26 years ago.

Once completed, the tunnel will meet the demands of the nearly 34,000 people of Lahaul and Spiti valleys, which have remained underdeveloped due to lack of communication links.