Light of hope at the end of Rohtang tunnel

LAHAUL - Snow-capped mountains, glaciers, rivers, forests, pastures, monasteries and monuments - Himachal Pradesh’s twin Lahaul and Spiti valleys that share a border with Tibet have everything but communication links to tap their obvious tourist potential.

The only narrow road link from the tourist town of Manali to Lahaul and Spiti district tucked in the Pir Panjal range of the Himalayas is a 115 km mountainous terrain that is prone to snow avalanches and landslides. It remains closed during winters - virtually cutting off Lahaul and Spiti from the rest of the country.

However, winds of change have already started blowing in the valleys with its rugged terrain that lack even basic infrastructure like adequate hotels.

With Congress president Sonia Gandhi laying the foundation stone of the Rohtang tunnel, the district of some 34,000 people is set to come closer to the world when the state-of-the-art tunnel gets ready in another five years - by 2015.

The Rohtang tunnel will ensure round-the-year road accessibility to Lahaul and Spiti, besides reducing travel distance to the district by 48 km, and make the journey safer by avoiding at least 44 major avalanche-prone zones.

Interestingly, though the tunnel is slated to take nearly 63 months to complete, the property rates have already more than doubled in Lahaul and Spiti.

“People from other towns and cities have already started purchasing land and properties in the district realising the tourist potential once it gets good connectivity. This has led property rates to double,” Rajesh Negi, a tea vendor in Lahaul, told IANS. Lahaul and Spiti has only two fuel stations in an area of nearly 14,000 sq km.

Negi said hoteliers from Manali are showing interest in buying land for commercial activities.

The district administration is also gearing up to tap the tourism potential. It proposes to develop four integrated tourist hubs at Sissu, Udaipur, Jispa and Patsio.

According to the proposal, drawn up by deputy commissioner Ritesh Chowhan, the administration plans to construct multiplexes, shopping malls, parking lots, petrol pumps and food courts at each of these sites.

“We have submitted the proposal in a concept format to the chief minister and expect it to be sanctioned soon,” Chowhan told IANS.

He said once the nearly nine kilometre-long Rohtang tunnel is opened, Manali visitors won’t mind coming up a few kilometres since the distance between Sissu and Manali would be reduced.

(Sarwar Kashani can be contacted at s.kashani@ians.in)