Over 6.2 lakh vehicles entered through Atal Tunnel in 2022; 60% rise over 2021

A total of 6,22,988 vehicles entered through the Atal Tunnel Rohtang (ATR) in Lahaul valley last year while 6,50,711 vehicles exited through it, which is 12,73,699 vehicles in total during the year, as per data given by the Lahaul and Spiti Police. The figure for last year is far more than the traffic transit through the tunnel in the previous year.

In 2021, 3,76,870 vehicles had entered the tunnel while 4,23,071 vehicles exited through ATR, which was 7,99,941 vehicles in total. There has been a total increase of approximately 4.73 lakh vehicles compared to the previous year, which is an approximately 60 per cent increase from the vehicular traffic number recorded the previous year.

The data showed that maximum monthly traffic was registered in the months of June, December and May, in descending order, i.e., 2,25045, 2,02,974 and 2,11,824 vehicles respectively. The maximum traffic recorded for a single day was on December 26, 2022, which was 19,383 vehicles. This is also the highest number for any day since Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated Atal Tunnel Rohtang.

Over the past year, a total of 16 days saw traffic of over 10,000 crossing the tunnel, with December having six such days. The district has faced a huge traffic influx since the opening of Atal Tunnel in Rohtang, which is increasing day by day gradually, the data showed.

The Atal Tunnel was first inaugurated on October 3, 2020 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Rohtang. The tunnel has been named after former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and is the longest highway tunnel in the world at 9.02-km. It connects Manali to Lahaul-Spiti Valley, ensuring movement throughout the year.

The tunnel reduces the road distance by 46 kilometres between Manali and Leh and the time by about four to five hours.