TAWANG, 15 Sep: The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) completed the excavation of the 105-metre-long Sela Chabrela tunnel near Sela Pass in Tawang district, at an altitude of 13,900 feet, under its Project Vartak, on Wednesday.
BRO Director General Lt Gen Rajeev Chaudhry initiated the last blast remotely via videoconference, while Project Vartak Chief Engineer Brigadier Raman Kumar SV was personally present in Chabrella.
The tunnel, which is nearing completion, had already been inaugurated by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on 12 September.
“Keeping in mind the vision of the DGBR and the capability building of the organisation, the 42 BRTF, under Project Vartak, conceived a 105-metre-long and 9.5 metre wide departmental tunnel as a pilot project. A suitable location was identified between km 7.500 and km 8.400 on the Sela-Chebrela-Bangajang Gompa road for the construction of the tunnel,” the BRO informed in a release.
This tunnel is a pilot project which will aid BRO personnel in gaining firsthand experience of tunnel construction. “It will enable the organisation to supervise other tunnels more effectively while being a harbinger for many more such tunnels to come up departmentally in the future,” the release added.
