NEW DELHI: Finally a breakthrough will be achieved officially at Silkyara in Uttarakhand on Wednesday when the two ends of the tunnel excavated from opposite directions meet. The project was stuck for months after a section of the Silkyara Bend–Barkot tunnel collapsed while under construction in November 2023.
With this breakthrough the excavation work will be completed and the tunnel will be ready for use in the next one year after finishing the remaining works, sources said. The project, part of Char Dham Road connectivity, made headlines after 40 workers were left stranded after the cave-in in leading to a nerve-wracking rescue operation lasting 17 days. In the end, all the workers were safely taken out.
After the incident, the govt had decided to salvage the project considering the huge expenditure incurred and the importance of the 4.5 km tunnel. The road transport ministry allowed the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (NHIDCL) to commence construction in January last year.
“All issues have been addressed while carrying out digging work and excavation of the debris. Necessary changes have also been made taking into account all safety concerns,” said an official.
Though the detailed probe report into the collapse had found negligence on part of NHIDCL, the entity that prepared the detailed project report (DPR), construction firm and supervision consultant or authority engineer (AE), the govt has not yet taken any significant action against any of these entities. The report had pointed out how the fixing of alignment did not meet basic principles of tunnelling, and there was negligence on part of the contractor to address the issue of 21 minor collapses, despite the AE flagging them.
The report had flagged the lack of coordination and information flow among the stakeholders and how they overlooked responsibilities while recommending govt to initiate penal action against delinquent personnel and officers after carrying out an inquiry.