The whole of India watched with bated breath the rescue of 41 trapped workers in the Uttarakhand Silkyara-Barkot tunnel. The collapse of the tunnel in Uttarkashi on November 12 culminated in the successful rescue of the entrapped workers after 17 long days.
Reports quoting officials are now suggesting that the tunnel collapse was not an isolated incident.
Though what happened on November 12 became a sensitive issue given the lives of dozens at stake, the tunnel collapse is a recurring challenge.
During its construction over the past five years, the tunnel on the Char Dham all-weather road project has grappled with a series of collapses, labeled as 'cavities'.
Speaking about the 4.5 km-long bidirectional tunnel with a local media outlet, the director of administration and finance at the National Highways Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (NHIDCL) Anshu Manish Khalkho said that approximately "19-20 minor to medium-level collapses" occurred during the tunnel's construction.
Khalkho said, "Such incidents happen during every tunnel construction project, but we were unlucky this time that workers got trapped."
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Khalkho also revealed that more collapses took place on the Barkot side compared to the Silkyara side.
Notably, a specific area within 160 to 260 meters from the Silkyara end, known as the 'red zone' or 'shear zone,' was identified as prone to collapses due to brittle rocks.
Khalkho, while speaking to media, said additional protective measures would be implemented to reinforce this vulnerable area.
Another official speaks in same vein
An anonymous official connected to the tunnel construction reportedly spoke on the same vein. He stated, "the tunnel had faced numerous cavity collapses due to the challenging geology of the region and significant rock deformation."
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It is worth noting that Bernard Gruppe, a European company providing design services to Navayuga Engineering, the construction firm undertaking the tunnel project, had previously acknowledged that the "geological conditions (at the tunnel site) proved to be more challenging than predicted in the tender documents."
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The Silkyara-Barkot tunnel's recent incident and the subsequent rescue of trapped workers are now bringing our attention to the ongoing challenges in constructing this vital infrastructure project.
(With inputs from agencies)