Bilaspur/Manali, October 6, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
President Droupadi Murmu is on a three-day visit to Himachal Pradesh, with the first convocation of AIIMS Bilaspur and a visit to the strategic Atal Tunnel at Rohtang among the key engagements on her itinerary.
Murmu will attend the inaugural convocation of AIIMS Bilaspur as the chief guest on Tuesday. Himachal Pradesh Governor Kavinder Gupta, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda are also scheduled to attend the ceremony.
The convocation marks a significant milestone for the institute and its first batch of MBBS students. The President is expected to confer degrees and honour graduating doctors for their academic achievements.
After her Bilaspur engagement, Murmu will travel towards Manali. On Wednesday, October 7, she is scheduled to visit the Hidimba Temple and the Atal Tunnel at Rohtang in Lahaul-Spiti. Her visit to the tunnel is part of the official programme announced by the President’s Secretariat.
The Atal Tunnel provides all-weather connectivity between Manali and the Lahaul Valley and has strategic as well as economic significance for the region. Murmu’s visit comes after her proposed visit to the tunnel during an earlier Himachal Pradesh tour in April was cancelled due to adverse weather.
Security and traffic arrangements have been strengthened in Bilaspur and along the President’s travel routes, with authorities reviewing arrangements for traffic management, parking, medical services, drinking water, power supply and emergency preparedness.
AIIMS Bilaspur was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 5, 2022, after its foundation stone was laid by him in October 2017 under the Central government’s Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana.
Built at a cost of more than Rs 1,470 crore, the institute has 18 speciality and 17 super-speciality departments, 18 modular operation theatres and 750 beds, including 64 ICU beds. Spread across 247 acres, it also provides round-the-clock emergency and dialysis services and conducts health camps in remote tribal and high Himalayan areas, including Kaza, Saluni and Keylong.
The institute has an annual intake of 100 MBBS students and 60 nursing students.
The President is scheduled to conclude her Himachal Pradesh visit on October 8 and return to New Delhi.
The Atal Tunnel, meanwhile, is a 9.02-km-long highway tunnel through the Pir Panjal range at an altitude of about 3,000 metres. It connects Manali with the Lahaul-Spiti Valley throughout the year, reducing the distance between Manali and Leh by 46 km and travel time by around four to five hours.
Before the tunnel was opened, heavy snowfall would cut off the Lahaul Valley from the rest of the country for nearly six months each year. The tunnel has a horseshoe-shaped, single-tube, double-lane design, with a roadway width of eight metres and an overhead clearance of 5.525 metres. It is designed to handle up to 3,000 cars and 1,500 trucks a day, with a maximum permitted speed of 80 kmph.
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