Debris fell inside the under-construction Silkyara-Barkot tunnel, which was in the news in 2023 when 41 workers were trapped there for 17 days in Uttarakhand’s Uttarkashi, during rectification work on Friday, officials said on Monday. In July, a 22-year-old worker was killed after a section of the concrete lining inside the 4.5-km-long tunnel, which is part of the Char Dham all-weather road project, collapsed.
As per the approved drawing, we were carrying out work to correct the geometry. This is a loose portion, and there are a few such locations. “A larger loose portion opened up. We are putting a rim around the area and filling it. Similar incidents have occurred during rectification work in the past.”
“The geology in that section is also poor, and this work is nearing completion, with only about 100 metres left.
Ravi Kant, the general manager (projects) for Navayuga Engineering Company Limited, the executing agency for the tunnel, said the debris fell during work being undertaken to fix its deformed geometry. He said such incidents are normal during the tunnelling and rectification work. He said the debris was slightly larger than usual.
Officials said that no damage was caused and no one was hurt on Friday.
Navayuga Engineering Company Limited is constructing the tunnel on behalf of the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corp Ltd at a cost of approximately ₹ 1384 crore. It will reduce the distance between Gangotri and Yamunotri, two of the four revered Hindu shrines in Uttarkashi, by 26 kilometers. In November 2023, 41 workers were trapped inside the tunnel for 17 days after a part of it caved in following a landslide. A 12-member rat-hole miners’ team was roped in in a last-ditch attempt to clear the final 12 metres of the 57m-thick wall of debris that trapped the workers. The rat-hole miners worked for nearly 24 hours without a break, with shovels, spades, hammers and drills to rescue the workers after the modern auger machines failed.
Frequent hurdles marred the rescue operation.
