66th B.P.S.C. (Pre) 2020

Atal Tunnel is across which one of the following Himalayan ranges?

aZanskar
bWestern Pir Panjal
cLadakh
dEastern Pir Panjal✓ Correct
eNone of the above/More than one of the above

Explanation

The 9.02 km long Atal Tunnel has been constructed in Himachal Pradesh on the Leh–Manali Highway in the Eastern Pir Panjal range of the Himalayas. The Atal Tunnel has been built to ensure all-weather road connectivity to the strategically important Ladakh, up to the remote Lahaul and Spiti valley. However, the tunnel will provide connectivity only up to Darcha, north of Keylong in the Lahaul region. It has been constructed under the Border Roads Organisation and is strategically important for India. In 2002, the Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Lt. Gen. Prakash Suri (Director General, Border Roads) initiated this tunnel. On 3 October 2020, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Atal Tunnel at Rohtang (Himachal Pradesh).

general-geography