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The collapse of a tunnel in the Ramban area of Srinagar along the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway has raised concerns about the safety of tunnels under construction in Jammu and Kashmir. The authorities and tunnel construction agencies involved in these tunnel works, on the other hand, claim that all safety precautions have been taken to avoid any such incidents. The 14-kilometer long and strategically important Zojila Tunnel is being built on the Srinagar-Leh Highway, and work is progressing at a rapid pace.
The Zojila Tunnel project site is located on an existing highway (NH-01) that runs from Sonamarg (UT of J&K) to Minamarg (UT of Ladakh) at an elevation ranging from 2700m to 3300m, making it Asia’s longest tunnel at this elevation (13.2 km). Officials said the current site location is in seismic zone IV, and all precautionary measures have been put in place to protect the project’s structures.
Another 6.5-kilometer-long Z Morh tunnel is nearing completion near Sonamarg in Ganderbal district.
VK Pant, General Manager of the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation (NHIDCL), told Greater Kashmir that all safety measures for the Z Morh and Zojila Tunnel are already in place, and that they were put in place in advance after considering all factors.
“The exact cause of the tunnel collapse in Ramban is still unknown,” Pant said, adding that a team of authority engineers from ICT has been dispatched to Ramban to verify and learn the true cause of the tunnel collapse. “If any additional measures are required, they will be implemented for the under construction tunnels,” Pant added.
He stated that the 6.5-kilometer Z-Morh Tunnel is nearly complete and that no such incidents are expected.
Burhan Andrabi, Senior Manager of Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Limited (MEIL), the construction company in charge of the Zojila Tunnel, explained that the due and required procedures are steps taken to carry out the construction work in a way that minimises the chances of any mishaps.
“Before beginning the face excavation work, a rock strengthening test will be performed to determine how to proceed,” Burhan told Greater Kashmir, adding that “certain parameters will be ensured to avoid any damage in the tunnel construction work.” He explained that the portal stabilisation work is completed before the rocks are broken during excavation.
Anil Dixit, Executive Director of NHIDCL, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and is responsible for all tunnel construction work in Jammu and Kashmir, said that a meeting has been called a few days ahead to review the progress and other safety measures related to the under construction tunnels in the state. He stated that this unfortunate incident (part of tunnel collapse) occurred, and that “all measures are reviewed and in place to avoid any such incidents in the future.” He claimed that only two tunnel projects are currently in the works in Kashmir, with a few others in the works on the Jammu side.
