Atal Tunnel will connect youth with job opportunities: PM

New Delhi, Oct 3 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said that the newly-inaugurated all-weather Atal Tunnel in Himachal Pradesh, that links Manali to the Lahaul-Spiti valley, will bring employment opportunities for the youth of the entire region.
After a decade of sheer hard work of the Border Roads Organisation, Prime Minister Modi inaugurated a 9.02 km-long horseshoe-shaped two-lane tunnel earlier on Saturday. It is one of the world’s most challenging tunnels and a marvel of engineering motorways.
Addressing the public from the snow-clad Sissu town of Lahaul valley, the Prime Minister said that the tunnel will boost tourism and ease travelling. “It will connect the youth of this entire region with many employment opportunities. Some people will run homestays, guesthouses, shops or become guides. Handicrafts, fruits and medicines will also get a boost.” Modi said that with the construction of the tunnel, the farmers of the region and people associated with horticulture, cattle-rearers, students and traders will be benefitted.
“Earlier, people in areas like Lahaul-Spiti and others were left to struggle on their own. In recent years, work is being done with new thoughts,” he said, in an apparent dig at the erstwhile UPA government.
Besides this, the completion of the Atal Tunnel is a key element in the Defence Ministry’s attempts to make the entire 475 km-long Manali-Keylong-Leh highway, used by the armed forces to reach forward areas in Ladakh bordering China and Pakistan, motorable almost round the year.