Uttarkashi tunnel was a part of the Char Dham project undertaken by the Indian government to ease connectivity for the people. The project was denounced by several environmental activists and researchers. Char Dham project is the root cause of several landslide and environmental disasters in Uttarakhand causing the death of people and environmental damage. Here is the reason behind the Uttarkashi Tunnel collapse.
The root cause
Uttrakhand is the origin where the Himalayas. Himalayan mountains are one of the youngest mountain in the world formed only 30–40 million years ago. The Himalayan mountains being young are subject to ecological phenomena because they are very unstable and relatively less strong, making construction a major ecological hazard, but that did not stop the Indian government from creating their project. Ultimately because of the poor strength of the rocks and the ecological imbalance of the area the part of the tunnel, Silkyara Bend–Barkot, collapsed trapping 41 workers.
Usually whenever digging long tunnels an emergency escape route is made in case of calamity, The engineers in the tunnel were stupid enough not to opt to make that emergency route which made any calamity almost fatal. The Navayuga Engineering Company Limited was given the task of constructing the project. Till now no charges have been placed on the company for such poor administration and leniency, if the emergency tunnel had been made the escalation of the situation would not have been that steep.
The rescue mission in brief-
The rescue mission was very long but to keep it concise, I am writing in brief. Arnold Dix, an Australian tunnel expert, helped rescue 41 workers. There are two types of rescue operation possible in the area- one was vertical mining and the second was horizontal mining. Vertical mining was not recommended because it could lead to environmental catastrophe, so the mission was to to dig through the rocks by horizontal mining, The mission was started, Auger machine was used which looked something like this-
The machine dug for days and was able to insert a pipe where food was transferred to the workers, a few days later another hole was dug and bigger objects like cellphones, and walkie-talkies were transferred, electricity remained in the tunnel hence the workers were not in complete darkness. The happiness did not last that long when the Auger machine broke down and got stuck irreparably, the happiness died now. The team decided to start with vertical mining but it was very slow and was only able to dig 20 metres. The team then took a painful decision to opt for rat-hole miners, rathole miners are miners who manually dig into caves. They are mostly seen digging for coal, the process is incredibly dangerous for ecology and workers’ health and was banned by The National Green Tribunal (NGT). The only option of rat hole mining was implemented and they were successfully able to dig and rescue the workers, marking the end of the operation
The opposition and stupidity-
Credits: ZEE NEWS
The Char Dham project aimed to improve connectivity to four pilgrimage sites in the Himalayas but faced criticism for its potential environmental consequences. Reports from the Wildlife Institute of India highlighted the project’s adverse effects on trees, wildlife corridors, water bodies, and endangered species like the snow leopard and red panda.
Legal challenges emerged, questioning the project’s compliance with environmental norms and clearance procedures. A High-Powered Committee (HPC) appointed by the Supreme Court labeled the project as “ill-conceived” and recommended limiting road widths to 5.5 meters, except in strategic zones. The HPC also cautioned against disrupting wildlife corridors and areas prone to landslides or near riverbanks.
However, the government contested the HPC’s recommendations, arguing for 10-meter-wide roads, citing safety for pilgrims and the military. Despite the Supreme Court’s judgment favoring wider roads in certain stretches, concerns persist over the ecological impact and potential disasters akin to the devastating 2013 Kedarnath tragedy.
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