Shinkun la Tunnel in Himalayas will help troops, foster economic prosperity too

Manali: Nearly four years after inaugurating the Atal Tunnel, nestled in Pir Panjal ranges of the Himalayas, a crucial all-weather motorway near this Himachal Pradesh picturesque resort, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday launched the construction of twin-tube 4.1-km-long Shinkun la Tunnel on the Nimu-Padum-Darcha road to provide round-the-clock connectivity to the northern borders with China.

On completion within the timeline of two years, the tunnel located at an altitude of around 15,800 feet will be the highest in the world.

It will not only ensure swift and efficient movement of armed forces and equipment but also foster economic development in Himachal Pradesh and Union Territory of Ladakh despite challenging conditions of freezing temperatures in extremely difficult terrain.

The Shinkun la Tunnel, whose construction was launched on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of Kargil Vijay Diwas, is linking Manali with the Line of Actual Control will remain open throughout the year.

Locals and members of the tourism industry told IANS after the Atal Tunnel, longest highway tunnel in the world beneath the majestic Rohtang Pass, the Shinkun la Tunnel is an effort of the NDA government to improve connectivity in remote and inaccessible areas of Ladakh and Lahaul-Spiti district of Himachal Pradesh, which attract globetrotters not only for nature-based activities but also to a land of Buddhism and monasteries.

Officials told IANS the Shinku La Tunnel is the shortest, safer and the third alternative corridor for the armed forces for forward areas of Ladakh.

Not open throughout the year, the land-locked Lahaul Valley and forward areas in Ladakh remain cut off for at least five months from December owing to heavy snow accumulation at high mountain passes that lie between Keylong, the headquarters of Lahaul-Spiti, and Leh.

The Atal tunnel -- a dream of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and named after him posthumously -- was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 3, 2020.

It reduces the road distance by 46 km between Manali and Leh and the time by about four to five hours.

The Atal tunnel was completed after 10 years of sheer hard work by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) with an outlay of over Rs 3,200 crore.

The south portal of the Atal Tunnel is located at a distance of 25 km from Manali at an altitude of 3,060 metre, while the north portal of the tunnel is located near Teling village in Sissu in the Lahaul Valley at an altitude of 3,071 metre.

A BRO official told IANS the all-weather road to forward areas in Ladakh bordering China and Pakistan requires more tunnels like Atal Tunnel, either at Shinku la or at least three passes located on the original 475-km Manali-Leh road for round-the-year connectivity.

"The tunnel beneath Shinku la is feasible and economically viable as compared to digging tunnels beneath three other passes,” he said.

From Keylong, the road travels further to Leh via Darcha, some 170 km from Manali.

From Darcha, where the BRO has constructed the 360-m long longest steel truss bridge, one road bifurcates towards Shinku la (pass), the shortest route that traversing the remote Zanskar region towards Padum, some 30 km from Leh, and another towards the windy Manali-Leh highway.

The BRO connected the strategic 298-km Nimmu-Padam-Darcha road in Ladakh on March 25. The road is now the third axis, shorter too, apart from Manali-Leh and Srinagar-Leh which connects Ladakh to the hinterland.

The Darcha-Nimmu-Padum road has been identified as the third strategic alternative to Ladakh in wake of the threat from Pakistan and China.

"The tunnel beneath Shinku la will further drastically reduce the distance between Manali and Leh," an official told IANS.

The Manali-Leh route is 475 km, while the Manali-Darcha-Padum-Leh road is 444 km.

The National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corp Ltd has prepared the detailed project report of the Shinku la tunnel.

For Kargil, the troop movement from Manali is via Leh that is 700-km long.

With the construction of the Darcha-Nimmu-Padum road through the Shinku la tunnel, the distance between Manali and Kargil will be reduced to 522 km.

Officials admit the construction of the Shinku la tunnel alone is more viable in comparison to construction of at least tunnels beneath the Baralacha (16,020 feet), Lachlungla (16,620 feet) and Tanglangla (17,480 feet) passes that lie on the operational Manali-Leh link.

The strategic importance of the Manali-Leh link was realised by the government when Pakistan tried to cut off the Srinagar-Leh road during the 1999 Kargil conflict, in a bid to restrict road access to Ladakh.

However, the movement of armed forces to the forward areas in Ladakh from the Manali side, that doesn't fall in the firing range of Pakistan forces, is feasible only from June to mid-December.

(Vishal Gulati can be contacted at [email protected])