Rohtang Tunnel to become a reality

[rameshtahlan]

Once the Rohtang Tunnel is ready, and probably opened to public after 2019,
I am definitely going across it in thick of winter, when there is white all over.
the drive on the other side which is after descend from and then to Keylong is the most beautiful drive,
and with snow all over it will be even more so

happy landings
RT

 

[anupmathur]

Mod note: All threads about Rohtang Tunnel merged into this original thread.

 

[rameshtahlan]

Shamik

I am looking forward to this tunnel being completed soon and becoming the primary route for traveling to Ladakh. This will take the pressure off the Manali ? Leh route and most probably it will be less maintained then it is right now. All this would be mean that route might become a heaven for offroad buffs who want to rough it out .

I really wish they would make a ByPass for Manali to the Rohtang Tunnel.
But even then, hard core roadies will still want to drive up to Rohtang Pass.
the one and small advantage would be that goods traffic or truckers would use the bypass and Rohtang Tunnel to Keylong and beyond almost though out the year,
and the local traffic between Manali side and Keylong side would also use the Rohtang Tunnel daily.
However, from a tourism point of view, a solution to the road to Rohtang Pass still needs to be found, because Rohtang Pass will always remain a destination.

 

[rameshtahlan]

The Rohtang Tunnelling work has been hit by another road block, it was in the news some months back
NGT is not allowing the construction company to break rocks from a location identified on one of the mountain side.
they need these rocks for rock crushing for the construction of the tunnel. Huge quantities are needed.
What ever rocks comes out of the tunnelling itself is absolutely inadequate.
This is not a private project. NGT needs to do some internal thinking on its priorities, and priorities for the Nation.
This tunnel has dual purpose, one civilian and one military.
China is a dormant dragon, one day it will raise its head to wards India.
China has already made a 4 lane highway towards Sikkim.
and a rail link to Tibet, which is part of its military strategy amongst other issues to make the local Tibetan population into a minority.
Since i am from defence services, i was with BRO in Apr this year in Manali,
I drove to the end of the South Port Rohtang Tunnel.
These guys are doing a fantastic job, the Govt needs to move at same pace, and NGT needs to understand certain necessities.

Look at the flyover between Janakpuri and Dwarka at Dabri Mor. Pathetic,
the govt cannot get that small piece of 100 sq ft of land so that the 6 lanes is complete. the 4 lanes on one side are operating with just one lane.
and this is the situation for past one year.
this is a major route for Northern states and NW and West Delhi to link to Airport and also to Gurgaon.

 

[adsatinder]

NGT is headed by Chinese ?
Ban shows this only !

 

[Yogesh Sarkar]

As per the latest news, tunnel has been delayed by another couple of months and it would only be through by September this year.

Following heavy snowfall in January and February, breakthrough in the strategic 8.8-km Rohtang tunnel project — meeting of the ends of the North and South Portals — will be delayed at least by two months as the Rohtang tunnel is again passing through a critical phase due to poor rock conditions at the South Portal.

Chief Engineer Rohtang Tunnel Brig DN Bhatt said that at present the work is going on on the South Portal round the clock despite heavy snowfall. North Portal near Sissu, on the other side of Rohtang, remains closed from December till May 15 every year due to closure of Rohtang Pass during this period.

The Chief Engineer said heavy snowfall during the previous two months has also affected traffic movement on the approach road to the tunnel though the construction work at South Portal has not been stopped at any time.

During these two months avalanche sites became active and about 145 small and heavy avalanches have been recorded in Solang Valley, Dhundi and South Portal.

However, the loss to life has been averted by restricting movement of vehicles. In view of the avalanche threat the road between Solang and South Portal remained closed for traffic from 8 am to 5.30 pm every day. This has affected the disposed of muck from the tunnel.

Brig Bhatt said the construction at the South Portal of the tunnel is passing through a high overburden of above 1100 m due to which high stress conditions are being encountered.

Also, during the two months, the rock strata encountered has been very poor, slowing down the progress. If such poor rock conditions prevail in March as well the breakthrough may be achieved only in September 2017 not in July 2017.

However, final completion of tunnel would remain unaffected.

Source: Tribune India

 

[rameshtahlan]

Great work going on.
I drove into the tunnel last year.
Fantastic work going on.

happy landings
RT

 

[Yogesh Sarkar]

Work on building the Rohtang Tunnel is getting further delayed and now the new deadline for connecting tunnels from both sides is October-November. I guess if it gets even more delayed, then it won’t be possible this year due to bad weather.

Also I seriously doubt it would be ready for traffic by 2019. 2020 if we are lucky, or maybe even later than that.

--------------------------------------------------------------

Breakthrough in the strategically important 8.8km-long Rohtang tunnel could be delayed by a month or two as engineers still have nearly an 850m tunnel to dig and the current excavation speed is about 6 metre a day.

Excavation work from the northern side in Lahaul started on May 24 after a gap of about six months. After snow was removed, machinery and raw materials were moved to the north portal of the tunnel. The tunnel is being built by blasting and digging. Two blasts in a day - one in day and one in night from each side help engineers advance 2m to 3m ahead in the tunnel.

An engineer said breakthrough in the tunnel is expected in October or November. Earlier, Border Roads Organization (BRO) said it would be achieved in July. Workers from the southern side are working about 4,550 metres inside the tunnel. Water leakage and loose strata of the tunnel delayed the excavation work in the last three years. Now, high temperature is making it difficult to stay inside the tunnel for long. But, engineers have now fitted heavy duty ventilation system to control temperature.

After digging, it will take nearly two more years for final furnishing and the tunnel would be ready for traffic by 2019.

Source: Times of India

 

[adsatinder]

Lahaul misses Polio campaign, vaccines taken across Rohtang tunnel
Suresh Sharma | TNN | Feb 1, 2018, 07:50 IST



MANALI: The Himachal health department forgot to conduct intensified pulse polio immunisation (IPPI) in Lahaul on January 28, leaving about 813 children deprived of polio drops. To rectify the mistake, vaccines were sent through Rohtang tunnel on Tuesday and the polio campaign will be conducted on February 4. Since Lahaul has been cut off by road from the rest of the state since December, the health department had to procure pulse polio vaccines in advance through helicopter. Chief medical officer (CMO), Lahaul-Spiti, who has been out of the district for a long time, failed to instruct his juniors to conduct the campaign along with the rest of the country. As a result, the health department failed to procure the vaccine and had to cancel the campaign. The government did not issue a schedule for sorties to Lahaul, so the vaccines were sent to the valley via the Rohtang tunnel, which is under construction. Lahaul-Spiti deputy commissioner Ashwani Kumar Chaudhary said the vaccine has reached the valley. "Polio drops will be administered to children below five years of age on February 4. The second phase of polio immunisation will be conducted on March 11. I have issued show-cause notice to the CMO and he will reach here anytime by chopper," he said. The administration, in Spiti sub-division of the district, procured the vaccine from the neighbouring Kinnaur district. In Lahaul, the administration had the option of bringing the vaccine through Rohtang tunnel in advance.
Another option was the Jammu-Kishtwar-Udaipur road but they preferred the helicopter. Block medical officer, Keylong Jagdish Kumar said all preparations had been made at polio booths in Lahaul and vaccines were expected to reach the valley by chopper on January 25. But he said the flight was cancelled and the vaccine did not reach. Health services in tribal Lahaul are in poor condition and the valley, which is cut off from the mainland in the winter, does not have enough specialist doctors and surgeons. Stuck in the snowbound valley, a number of patients have lost their lives for want of health services. After completion of excavation in the Rohtang tunnel, people hope that patients will be taken across the tunnel in cases of emergency. But this was not to be as bailey bridge on Chandra river was removed by engineers as it is established at an avalanche prone zone. The bridge connected the tunnel with the valley in Lahaul. Still, the tunnel proved useful on Tuesday when polio vaccines were to be brought to the valley.

Lahaul misses Polio campaign, vaccines taken across Rohtang tunnel - Times of India

 

[adsatinder]

For children of Lahaul and Spiti, Rohtang turns a tunnel of hope
As the local population is dependent on state-run chopper services in the winter months because heavy snowfall blocks access to area, the Himachal government’s health department was in a fix when bad weather prevented flights from taking off.
INDIA Updated: Feb 06, 2018 10:23 IST

Gaurav Bisht
Hindustan Times, Shimla

BRO to the rescue, gets polio drops to children through Rohtang tunnel .(Aqil Khan/HT)



It was a critical mission. Children of the remote tribal district of Lahaul and Spiti were about to miss their polio drops because of bad weather leading to suspension of chopper flights.

That is until the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) stepped in and decided to despatch the vaccines through the under-construction Rohtang tunnel.

As the local population is dependent on state-run chopper services in the winter months because heavy snowfall blocks access to area, the Himachal government’s health department was in a fix when bad weather prevented flights from taking off. The children were to be given the vaccines on February 4, part of a statewide pulse polio campaign.

Conceived in 1998, the project was announced by then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on June 3, 2000. The work was entrusted to BRO on May 6, 2002.
An urgent request to BRO got a quick response – the vaccine was to be transported to its destination through the under-construction Rohtang tunnel. The BRO allowed the health department staff to use the 8.8-km tunnel and the children got their drops on time.

“807 children have been administered the drops,” the district’s deputy commissioner Ashwani Chaudhary said when contacted, adding that some patients requiring emergency treatment also travelled through the tunnel five days ago. “Defence agency BRO made it possible for us to carry out the pulse polio campaign. We will achieve our set 100% target by today (Monday),” chief medical officer DD Sharma said.

The second phase of the campaign will be carried out in March.

Work in progress
The BRO, which is executing the tunnel project, achieved a breakthrough at both ends of the tunnel in October last year – at Sissu in the north and Dhundhi in the south. The tunnel will shorten the 474-km distance between Manali and Leh by 46 km, which means the eight-hour journey will be cut down by two-and-a-half hours.

Speed limits in the tunnel are restricted to 80km per hour or 50mph. The tunnel will accelerate troop mobility to the strategic frontiers in Jammu and Kashmir, besides providing a road link to Lahaul and Spiti in winter.

The horse-shoe shaped road tunnel will be functional for emergency vehicles through this winter but will get fully operational by August 15, 2019. The project, started in 2010, and was to be completed in February 2015, but water ingress from Seri Nullah, ban on rock mining, delay in allotment of land needed for quarrying, and loose rock strata in the middle led to a slowdown.

The BRO this time continues working on both the south and north portal even after the closure of Rohtang pass. Usually, work is halted in winter when Rohtang Pass is cut off from the rest of the world due to snowfall.

The estimated cost of the project in 2010 was Rs 1,700 crore. It was revised to Rs 2,000 crore in 2015 and now the projected cost by 2019 is Rs 4,000 crore.

Conceived in 1998, the project was announced by then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on June 3, 2000. The work was entrusted to BRO on May 6, 2002. United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi laid the foundation stone of the project on June 28, 2010.




For children of Lahaul and Spiti, Rohtang turns a tunnel of hope