5 months ago
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The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) on December 6 constituted a five-member committee to investigate the collapse of a portion of the under-construction Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi, which led to 41 workers being trapped for 17 days last month.
The 4.5 km tunnel is part of the Char Dham Yatra all-weather road linking pilgrimage sites such as the Gangotri and Yamunotri shrines. Constructed by the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) through Navayuga Engineering Company Ltd., at an estimated cost of ₹853.79 crore, it will shorten the distance between the shrines by 26 km and travel time by one hour through steep mountain.
The forming of the committee comes days after the NHIDCL told The Hindu that it will restart the construction of the tunnel as soon as the debris is cleared.
The committee, headed by R.K. Dhiman, Additional Director-General, Border Road Organisation (BRO), will submit a preliminary report on the causes of the collapse within 10 days and a final report in a month.
The other members in the panel are Sandeep Gupta, Chief Administrative Officer, Member, Udampur-Sringar-Baramulla-Rail-Link project (USBRL), Northern Railway, Jammu; Prof. (retd.) K.S. Rao, lIT-Delhi; Prof. Amit Srivastava, Delhi Technological University (DTU); and Rahul Gupta, Chief Engineer, MoRTH, New Delhi.
The panel will conduct a detailed analysis of the tunnel collapse or failure, possible reasons for the same, and future risks based on analysis of the ground type and its characterisation. The panel will also analyse if there are risks associated with the construction method, and the sequence leading to the collapse.
The panel will review the Detailed Project Report (DPR) and detailed design reports submitted by the contractor along with geotechnical and geophysical investigations conducted during DPR. It will conduct a detailed study of the conditions at the site, including the zones of collapse or failures, hydrogeology of the project area, as well as ground type and its characterisation from standpoint of NATM (New Austrian Tunnelling Method).
The panel has been asked to assess entire system of project implementation by the contractor including quality-control. It will also verify compliance to specified requirements as per relevant Indian Road Congress (IRS), MoRTH and international guidelines and good engineering practices.
“The panel also needs to assess safety measures taken during construction of the tunnel and identify lapses, if any. It also has to assess the desirability of construction of separate escape tunnel and recommend suitable remedial measures or actions to restore collapsed portion of tunnel and take up further construction activities for completion of project,” reads the MoRTH order.
The committee shall also recommend amendments to Standard Operation Procedure to be followed in case of tunnel collapse and safety measures to be taken-up during tunnel construction.
The panel is authorised to co-opt domain experts for the task assigned to them. The NHIDCL has been asked to ensure the timely availability of all the authenticated records and personnel related to the implementation of the project and rescue operations, as and when called for by the committee.
