High-resolution cameras to check nuisance in Atal Tunnel

The Himachal Pradesh Police has installed high-quality automatic number plate reader ANPR cameras in the Atal Tunnel in Rohtang following nuisance by some tourists in the underpass.Ten tourists from Delhi were arrested on December 24 and their cars impounded after they stopped inside the tunnel and danced, leading to a traffic jam.

The Himachal Pradesh Police has installed high-quality automatic number plate reader (ANPR) cameras in the Atal Tunnel in Rohtang following nuisance by some tourists in the underpass.

Ten tourists from Delhi were arrested on December 24 and their cars impounded after they stopped inside the tunnel and danced, leading to a traffic jam. On December 27, 15 more tourists were arrested and two vehicles seized for obstructing traffic inside the tunnel.

A man being was purportedly thrashed by a constable and the Border Roads Organisation staff in the Atal Tunnel, a video of which surfaced online on January 3.

Now, every single vehicle passing through the area will be recorded with number plate in the database. If any vehicle stops or any passenger does any violation in the tunnel, it will be identified with number and prompt legal action will be taken against the violators, Kullu Superintendent of Police Gaurav Singh said.

The world's longest tunnel at an altitude of 10,040 feet, the Atal Tunnel has become a tourist destination since it was thrown open to the public by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last October. The 9.02-km tunnel, an all-weather road beneath the 13,058-foot-high Rohtang Pass, connects Lahaul of Lahaul-Spiti district and Manali of Kullu district in Himachal Pradesh.

Moreover, the force deployed in tunnel area have been equipped with body-worn cameras to address the situations arising out of police behaviour and activities of the public, especially tourists, Singh said.

The police are committed to ensure for the tourists a memorable experience of the Atal Tunnel. At the same time, it is ensuring the safety and security of the tunnel, along with checking of public nuisance and rowdy elements, he added. PTI DJIHMB

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