A landslide has occurred inside the tunnel under construction from Silkyara to Dandalgaon on Yamunotri National Highway in Uttarkashi, Uttarakhand. The tunnel is being constructed by Navyuga Company under the direction of NHIDCL. It is being told that more than 40 laborers are trapped inside the tunnel. District Disaster Management Uttarkashi has confirmed this. Although it is not yet known how many workers are trapped inside the tunnel. The work of removing the debris is being done by the company. Five 108 ambulances have been deployed at the spot.
Accident happened during shift changing
According to media reports, the night shift workers were coming out of the tunnel, while the next shift workers were going inside. The tunnel was closed due to debris coming from the upper part, about 300 meters from the main entrance of the tunnel. 40 to 50 laborers were working within about 2700 meters from here. The line laid to supply oxygen to the workplace was also destroyed by the debris. However, project officials are claiming that adequate amount of water and oxygen is available inside.
More debris is coming in than is being removed
The only option to rescue the trapped workers is to remove debris from the tunnel. It is being told that more debris is coming from the upper side of the tunnel than is being removed. There is no hard rock at the place where debris is coming from the upper side of the tunnel.
No deaths reported
ADG Law and Order AP Anshuman said that no death has been reported yet. SDRF and other rescue teams have reached the spot along with the police force. According to the information, the accident happened at 5:00 am on Sunday. This landslide occurred at a distance of 200 meters from the tunnel entrance towards Silkyara, while the workers who were working were 2800 meters inside the vehicle entrance.
This tunnel is being constructed under the Allweather Road Project.
This is the longest (four and a half kilometres) double lane road tunnel of this project. About four kilometers of it has been constructed. Workers remain busy day and night in the construction of the tunnel. The target is to complete its excavation by February 2024. The construction of this 4.5 km long state-of-the-art tunnel between Silkyara and Jangal Chatti on Yamunotri National Highway will reduce the distance between Gangotri and Yamunotri by 26 km.
Construction of the tunnel started in 2019
This tunnel is being built at a cost of about Rs 853 crore. Under the supervision of Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL), the double lane tunnel is the country’s first state-of-the-art tunnel being built using New Austrian Tunneling Method (NATM). Navayug Engineering Company started its construction in January 2019.
Source: patrika.com