Important Facts For Prelims
BRO Opens Rohtang Pass
- 28 Apr 2020
- 2 min read
Why in News
The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has opened the Rohtang Pass, three weeks in advance, for transporting essential supplies and relief materials to Lahaul and Spiti districts of Himachal Pradesh amid the lockdown due to Covid-19.
Key Points
- The pass is at 13,058 feet on the eastern Pir Panjal Range of the Himalayas.
- The Pass connects Leh and Manali. The road serves as the only mode of connectivity between the tribal population of Lahaul Valley in Himachal Pradesh and the rest of the country.
- It is also a crucial lifeline for the Army troops deployed on the eastern border in the Ladakh region.
- The pass remains snow-bound for almost six months, from mid-November to mid-May, isolating Lahaul and Spiti districts from the rest of the country.
- The valley depends on air traffic for external logistics and supplies during winters.
- Atal tunnel under Rohtang Pass:
- It is a 8.8-kilometre long tunnel and will be the world's longest tunnel above an altitude of 3,000 metres.
- It will reduce the distance between Manali and Leh by 46 kilometres and saves transport costs.
- It will provide all weather connectivity to remote border areas of Himachal Pradesh and Ladakh which otherwise remained cut off from the rest of the country for about six months during winters.
Border Roads Organisation
- BRO was conceived and raised in 1960 by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru for coordinating the speedy development of a network of roads in the North and the North Eastern border regions of the country.
- It works under the administrative control of the Ministry of Defence.
- It has diversified into a large spectrum of construction and development works comprising airfields, building projects, defence works and tunneling and has endeared itself to the people.
