By Ashley Karen
The Atal Tunnel Rohtang witnessed an inrush of vehicles in 2022. According to the reports, about 6,22,988 vehicles passed via Atal Tunnel Rohtang (ATR) in Lahaul valley in 2022, and nearly 6,50,711 vehicles exited via ATR.
The police articulated that traffic in the ATR in 2022 was far more than in 2021. As many as 3,76,870 vehicles entered the district in 2021, and 4,23,071 vehicles exited through ATR, which was 7,99,941 vehicles in total.
Accordingly, there has been an upsurge of roughly 4.73 lakh vehicles in comparison to last year. This is an inaccurate 60% increase from the vehicular traffic number recorded the previous year.
The max monthly traffic was recorded in June, December, and May (in descending order), i.e., 2,25045, 2,02,974, and 2,11,824 respectively.
Additionally, the max traffic recorded for a single day was on December 26, 2022, which was 19,383. This is the highest number for any day since Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated Atal Tunnel Rohtang on October 3, 2020.
A total of 16 days in the past year witnessed traffic of more than 10,000 crossing the tunnel, with December having six such days.
The 9.02-km tunnel was named after India’s former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee and is the longest highway tunnel in the world. It links Manali to Lahaul-Spiti Valley, assuring movement throughout the year.
Earlier, the Valley was cut off for almost six months each year owing to heavy snowfall.
Recently, on 30 December, tourists in nearly 400 vehicles close to the South Portal of the Atal Tunnel in Rohtang Pass were stranded because of the snowfall.
The vehicles were stuck as slippery conditions persisted after snowfall at the tunnel on the Manali-Leh highway and adjoining areas on Thursday.
Police teams from Keylong and Manali together launched a rescue operation, which lasted 10-12 hours and concluded at almost 4 am on Friday, and the vehicles moved to their respective destinations.
The tunnel decreases the road distance of 46 kilometers between Manali and Leh and the time by approximately four to five hours.
The tunnel is constructed with ultra-modern specifications in the Pir Panjal range of the Himalayas at a height of 3,000 meters (10,000 feet) from the Mean Sea Level (MSL).
