[ Sushmita Goswami ]
NECHIPHU, 30 Sep: The 500-metre tube Nechiphu tunnel in West Kameng district means more for Liza Debisow than merely improving connectivity.
It also means that no one has to go through the harrowing experience her family had to endure when her brother was injured in a road accident in the area before the tunnel was constructed.
“It becomes very foggy in the area and driving is very perilous. My brother was once injured while taking the road home,” Liza told PTI, expressing her happiness at the opening of the tunnel.
“But now we can drive safely. Not just the time, the risks have also come down drastically,” the teacher at a local school added.
The Nechiphu tunnel, built on the Balipara-Charduar-Tawang road in West Kameng district, is a D-shaped, single-tube, double-lane tunnel at an altitude of 1,630 metres and was inaugurated by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh through the virtual mode on 12 September.
For Sachin Bolusow, the tunnel means a safe passage in a faster mode.
“It is mostly foggy in this region and it becomes difficult to drive under such conditions. The tunnel has cut down driving time as well as made it safer,” he said.
He also pointed out that the opening of the tunnel has made transit easier for the defence personnel also, who are deployed across the state which shares its border with China.
Echoing Sachin, another local youth, Hroshu Khabisow, added, “Since the opening of the tunnel, there has also been a steady flow of tourists to see it.
Many of the visitors are people from nearby villages who marvel at the engineering feat and take turns to click photos on their mobile phones.
The beautifully lit interior of the tunnel is also a preferred route for recording videos by the local populace as well as travellers who use the road.
The tunnel is located in a strategic stretch which is usually affected by dense fog between the stretch km 70 to km 95 (current tunnel chainage is between km 81.970 to 87.075), Border Road Organisation (BRO) officials said.
During the foggy period, the traffic on this road is obstructed and sluggish. After a series of consultations, analysis and engineering, the Nechiphu tunnel was conceived as the only possible solution to avert the issue, they said.
The foundation stone was laid by Singh in August 2019 and work was started in October of the same year by Dhorajia Construction under EPC contract under close supervision of the BRO.
The tunnel has been constructed by cutting through highly fractured and fragile rock strata under low overburden through strict 3D monitoring and through proactive application of desired tunnel support system.
“This tunnel will not only provide safe all-weather passage but will also cut short the travel time by 30 minutes and reduce road distance by 6 kms of heavily, foggy stretch. This environment-friendly construction and reduction in distance will also help reduce carbon footprint in the area,” the officials said.
It is equipped with modern lighting and safety facilities, besides state-of-the-art electro-mechanical systems and firefighting devices.
Nearly 96% of Sela tunnel complete: BRO
Meanwhile, BRO officials informed that nearly 96 per cent work for the strategically crucial Sela tunnel, which will enable “all-weather” connectivity to Tawang, is complete and it is likely to be inaugurated by the year-end.
Final touches are being provided to the tunnel, along with installation of safety measures inside it, they added.
The Sela tunnel has been excavated below the 4,200-metre (13,800 ft) Sela Pass, which is often closed due to snowfall and landslides.
The Sela Pass connects Tawang district with the rest of Arunachal.
The tunnel will provide access to Tawang and other forward areas bordering China throughout the year, enhancing the strategic and operational capabilities of the Indian Army, the officials said.
“Almost 96 per cent work of the tunnel is complete. Only some work in the escape tunnel and pavement are pending, and those are also nearing completion,” a senior BRO official, who did not wish to be identified, told PTI.
The official said also that safety measures are being installed inside the tunnel in the final phase.
Passage through the tunnel is already open for vehicles involved in the construction, though no other movement is allowed at the moment, he said.
Kuldeep Singh, an on-site engineer of the company executing the work under the supervision of the BRO, said that it is likely to be inaugurated by the end of 2023.
“The weather is a major issue here. There is heavy rain and even snowfall. If the weather does not impede, we hope to be able to open it for the public by end of this year,” he said.
The total length of the project, including the tunnels, the approach and the link roads, will be around 12 kms. (PTI)
