Shimla, June 5 -- A massive summer tourist rush, fuelled by severe heatwaves across the plains, has triggered unprecedented surge in vehicle footfall at the Atal Tunnel, pushing the 9.02-kilometre engineering marvel well beyond its designed capacity of handling 4,500 cars per day, raising serious safety concerns. "There is heavy traffic, and there is a need to rethink our carrying capacity. We need to think seriously about this," said Himachal Pradesh revenue minister Jagat Singh Negi on Thursday, calling for coordinated action by all stakeholders to address growing traffic congestion The recent weeks have seen single-day vehicle entries skyrocket at the Atal Tunnel, with nearly 11,000 passing through it. The tunnel connects Manali with Keylong, bypassing the snowbound Rohtang Pass and significantly reducing travel time between Kullu and Lahaul-Spiti districts. Negi said the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), state government, police authorities and other stakeholders must work in coordination to ensure the tunnel remains safe and efficient for commuters. The tunnel connects Manali with Keylong, bypassing the snowbound Rohtang Pass and significantly reducing travel time between Kullu and Lahaul-Spiti districts. The tunnel carries two lanes of National Highway-3 and serves as a lifeline for the region. Taking note of public safety concerns, the Lahaul and Spiti district administration had urged the Kullu district administration to conduct a detailed safety audit of the tunnel. "Since no audit was done since 2019 so I had flagged certain issues that include getting a safety audit done, including capping the number of vehicles and even sought the allocated police force of 32 personnel each on north and south portal of the tunnel apart from having a dedicated lane for emergency vehicle," Lahaul and Spiti deputy commissioner (DC) Kiran Bhadana said. Following this, a safety audit was carried out by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) on June 2. Confirming the development, Kullu DC Anurag Chander Sharma said, "A preliminary safety audit of the Atal Tunnel was carried out by the BRO, as it maintains this highway. The Lahaul and Spiti DC i has highlighted the urgent need for the audit, especially in view of the growing vehicular flow due to the tourist influx, which is exceeding the tunnel's actual carrying capacity. It is a joint exercise by both district administrations." "Once the BRO submits the report, we will examine what additional measures can be taken to manage the traffic influx during both winter and summer seasons. The detailed findings will be shared after completion of the process," he added. Reacting on the concerns, cabinet ministers has called for coordinated action by all stakeholders. Earlier, Negi highlighted several shortcomings in the tunnel's infrastructure, including inadequate lighting, poorly designed lane dividers, traffic indiscipline and insufficient ventilation. He said the existing lighting system was not adequate for the present level of traffic and called for improvements to ensure safer movement inside the tunnel. Echoing Negi's sentiments, public works and urban development minister Vikramaditya Singh, "A large number of tourists travel from Manali through the Atal Tunnel to nearby destinations. It is important to manage traffic properly so that congestion does not become a problem," he said....