Successful breakthrough of 2.014 km long main railway tunnel from Shrikot Gas Warehouse to Sweeth in Garhwal today

Saturday was a peculiar and significant day for the engineers, technocrats and workers engaged in the work of Rishikesh Karnaprayag railway project a 125 kilometres long railway line that will lessen the 7 hours distance from Rishikesh to Karnaprayag to two hours.

It was today that a successful breakthrough of 2.014 km long main railway tunnel from Shrikot Gas Warehouse to Sweeth was executed with immense dexterity and dedication after several months of challenging situations, conditions and circumstances.

The entire work, highly challenging was successfully conducted inside the tunnel by a well knit team spirit inv the engineers and workers .Tunnel under the ground is altogether a different world… where working is not only dangerous but also full of complex problems.

The officers and employees engaged in tunnel construction work for this successful breakthrough deserve to be wholeheartedly complimented.

It may be recalled that the estimated project cost of this over ambitious 125.20 kilometres railway line from Rishikesh to Karnaprayag is Rs 6200 crores and is quite a challenging project as there will be thirty five bridges and seventeen tunnels, the longest tunnel being 15.1 kilometre from Devprayag to Lachmoli, Chamoli Garhwal .

The project under active processing is being constructed by Rail Vikas Nigam Limited which will tremendously help improve the connectivity to Char Dham spiritual portals of Uttarakhand viz Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri, Yamunotri where lakhs of pilgrims drop every year through their personel or hired vehicles, air traffic ( choppers) motorbikes and buses etc resulting in pollution and environment degradation of fragile Himalayan state.

What is unique about this challenging rail project is that except 20 kilometers railway lines in the open on the ground, 105 kilometres of railway tracts would be on 35 bridges and 17 tunnels over and under the mountains, the longest being covering a distance of 15.1 kilometres between Devprayag and Lachmoli in Chamoli Garhwal, Uttarakhand.

Thousands of trees have been cutted in the four lane road project of Char Dham and this rail project with hundreds of thousands of kilogram of silt, muck and rubble having been thrown in the rivers as claimed by several environmentalists expressing their apprehensions about the fragile hills of the Himalayas made hollow from inside by building tunnels especially when Uttarakhand had witnessed the dangerous deluge and Kedarnath disaster in 2013 June, thereafter in Rishi Ganga disaster killing thousands of pilgrims and residents of Uttarakhand and the country.

The engineering staff today illuminated the entrance of the tunnel with colourful lights and distributed sweets as well as commendation certificates to the workers for their dedication and hard work fulfilling this task with immense dedication and dexterity. However, the recent collapse of a part of Sikiyara Dandangaon tunnel at Uttarkashi in which several labourers were stuck for several days though safely evacuated by tremendous efforts of several days did raise apprehensions about tunnels in Uttarakhand that comes under Zone 5 prone to earthquakes.