Himachal CM lays foundation stone of `49 cr double lane tunnel in Shimla

Shimla: Adding a new landmark to Shimla – the capital town of Himachal Pradesh, Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur laid the foundation stone for Rs 49 crore double-lane traffic tunnel aimed to ease growing high volume of vehicular mobility, including tourists influx. "The state government is committed to maintain the old glory of Shimla town and Shimla Smart City Project was being executed vigorously by initiating various infrastructure works "said Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur", after laying foundation stone at Dhalli.

Shimla, an erstwhile Summer capital of India already has half a dozen tunnels built by the British engineers for mobility in the town, both vehicular and pedestrians.

Though some of the tunnels are in really bad shape and one also closed down, one can easily visualise how much importance was given to these tunnels by the Britishers.

While rolling out plans to build a new double lane tunnel, the Chief Minister said the old tunnel was constructed way back in 1852 and required to be supplemented

by another one.

"The new 147 meter double lane tunnel will provide much needed relief to the commuters.Shimla town has grown and expanded manifold and thus it was important that steps be taken for effective traffic management. The influx of the tourists through-out the year also called for building a new tunnel," he said.

Thakur said the state government was ensuring that all works under the Smart City Project were executed at a fast pace. He said the Project, although started in 2016, gained momentum during the tenure of the present State Government.