Work to build the world's highest road tunnel at Rohtang for an alternative all-weather route to strategically important Ladakh and Kargil regions in Jammu and Kashmir commenced today. The UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi launched the 1,700 crore rupees project. The drilling work for the 8.8-km-long horse-shoe shaped tunnel cutting across the Himalayan range by-passing<br/>the icy Rohtang pass in Himachal Pradesh at an altitude of<br/>over 3,000 meters kicks started over a decade after its<br/>strategic value was realised during the 1999 Kargil conflict. <br/> <br/>Defence Minister A K Antony, Himachal Pradesh Chief<br/>Minister P K Dhumal and Union Steel Minister Virbhadra Singh were present on the occasion. Speaking on the occasion, Mrs Gandhi said, the Rohtang tunnel construction is a happy and historic occasion for the nation, but asked the Border Roads Organisation to ensure that there is no ecological degradation during the drilling. She said, with this, the dream of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi has become true and expressed the hope that the BRO would complete the tunnel work within the deadline of 2015. After completion, it would be thrown open for the public to drive through from Manali to Keylong without having to touch the icy heights of Rohtang Pass at an altitude of 3,978 metres. The tunnel for an all-weather route to Leh in Ladakh will provide an alternative to Srinagar-Leh highway which the Pakistani forces tried to cut during the Kargil conflict.<br/>