Border Roads Organisation organized a Webinar on Atal Tunnel on 11 January, to disseminate the experiences gained on this tunnel, for the benefit of IITs, NITs and other technical institutions.Inaugurating the day long Webinar, Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh appreciated BRO engineers for building this engineering marvel despite many technical challenges amid COVID-19 restrictions. He cited the example of Seri Nalla, a fault Zone, which posed a serious challenge to even engineers from foreign countries. “But our engineers succeeded in overcoming the Seri Nalla challenge,” Raksha Mantri said, adding that for building such a great structure like Atal Tunnel not just bricks and mortar but the spirit of the national pride is of paramount importance. Raksha Mantri recalled various past achievements of Indian scientists and engineers and said they have always shown their prowess in various streams. Referring to the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan, Shri Rajnath Singh said, to overcome the COVID-19 challenges, “we were able to quickly mobilize our resources to produce PPE kits, masks, sanitizers etc. not only for our domestic requirements but also for supplying to other countries”.
He said government has given high priority to the development of border areas and BRO deployed 67% of its workforce in Northern borders. Lauding the BRO’s efforts and achievements during 2020, amidst COVID-19 restrictions, Raksha Mantri said there had been no cut in BRO budget.Raksha Mantri also released a Compendium documents listing the experiences and challenges encountered during the construction of the largest tunnel (9.020 km) in the World above 3000 mt elevation. Inaugurating the Atal Tunnel, Rohtang on 3 Oct 2020, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi had suggested that such a compendium be brought out for the benefit of students and professionals of Engineering institutes. This Webinar will enhance knowledge of all the faculty members and aspiring students, especially of final term students in tackling future challenges in tunnel construction. More than 1,000 people have participated in the Webinar.Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, Army Chief General MM Naravane, Defence Secretary Dr. Ajay Kumar and DG BRO Lt Gen Rajeev Chaudhry also attended the inaugural session .