The Border Roads Organization (BRO) engineering marvel, Atal Tunnel, built in Rohtang in Himachal Pradesh, won the Indian Building Congress (IBC) 'Best Infrastructure Project' award in New Delhi on Thursday.

More than 30 state-of-the-art infrastructure projects were nominated for the Best Infrastructure Project award. The strategic tunnel was voted 'Best Project for Excellence in Built Environment' by the IBC jury in 2021.

Director General of the BRO, Lieutenant General Rajeev Chaudhry, accepted the award at the IBC's 25th Annual Convention for the achievement of the BRO in building this tunnel connecting Manali to the Lahaul-Spiti Valley.

Lieutenant General Chaudhry told media that the tunnel, in addition to providing the armed forces with a strategic advantage by providing an alternative link to the critical Ladakh sector, has also been a boon to the local population of Himachal's Lahaul and Spiti district. Pradesh.

The area has seen unprecedented growth in visitor numbers, and the valley and state have seen an exponential increase in socio-economic terms in less than a year, he said.

The tunnel, built using the New Austrian Tunnel Method (NATM), was dedicated to the country on October 3, 2020 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

It is equipped with a semi-transverse ventilation system, where large fans individually circulate the air through the tunnel. An emergency tunnel has been integrated into the tunnel cross section under the main carriageway for evacuation in the event of calamities.

Fires in the tunnel are contained within a radius of 200 meters and fire hydrants are located in specific areas in the tunnel.

Pollution sensors constantly monitor the air quality in the tunnel and when the air quality is below the desired level, fresh air is injected into the tunnel via two heavy-duty fans on each side.