Light at the end of Rohtang tunnel soon
Working deep below a mountain of snow in Arctic-like conditions, a team of dedicated men, including experts from Germany and Austria, are focussed on a challenging mission — completing the 8.8-km-long Rohtang tunnel, considered India's most strategically important infrastructure project. 
The Rohtang tunnel project worth Rs 1,495-crore , when completed, will ensure all-weather connectivity to Keylong in Lahaul and Spiti district of this Himalayan state.
The men of the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), an inter-services organisation under the defence ministry, are working round the clock, despite the continuous sub-zero conditions, to complete the project touted as an engineering marvel.
The tunnel will be a boon for the cold deserts of Lahaul Valley, where over 20,000 people remain cut off from the rest of the country in winters owing to the closure of the Rohtang Pass. Besides reducing the road distance by approximately 48 km and saving travel time of about four hours, the tunnel will open up new vistas of trade and tourism and generate jobs for the locals.
It is located at altitudes ranging between 3,053 m and 3,080 m and is beneath the snow marooned Rohtang Pass. "Over 350 BRO men and 25 experts from Germany and Austria have been working day and night to excavate the tunnel," the organisation's Chief Engineer (Project Rohtang) P K Mahajan said.
Of the 8.8-km-long horseshoe shaped tunnel, 1,762 m from the south portal and 755 m from the north portal - about 2.5 km - has been dug up since the work commenced in June 2010, he said, adding that "digging is the most challenging assignment".
The project is scheduled to be completed by February 2015. Work on the north portal between the Lahaul Valley is stopped because of heavy snowfall.It is likely to resume in April-May when the snow melts. But work on the south portal towards Dhundi, is on.
