They ignored scientists’ warnings

The tunnel collapse was also reported in the local news, and fortunately the construction workers trapped inside, cut off from the outside world, were able to escape after more than two weeks. However, the story contains lessons that… Sciences mentioned.

The Tsar Dam Highway is being built in India’s high mountainous northern region, partly with the aim of allowing pilgrims to reach religious centers in the region by direct routes, and partly so that the country’s army can reach the northern border more easily. In defense of the homeland.

the Silkejara Tunnel It is being built as part of a highway, in a Himalayan environment where anything can be built with extra care due to the instability of the rocks. Of course, extra precaution also means additional costs, that is, if the necessary technological steps are actually followed.

The highway includes the construction of about 900 kilometers of roads (much of which existed in some form, but had to be expanded), more than 100 bridges, 3,500 drains, and many tunnels. The Indian government has allocated $1.9 billion for the project, which began in 2016. The works involve a lot of shifting that can cause rockslides, landslides and even lead to floods. Under Indian law, an environmental and environmental protection study is required for the construction of roads longer than 100 km, so the government came up with the idea of ​​not building the road as one big project, but rather in the form of several smaller projects (divided into sections shorter than 100 km), so it was able Whoever exceeds this list.

But in 2019, the project was turned into legal proceedings due to widespread protests by environmentalists, and the court then appointed a group of environmental specialists to review the ongoing construction work. The first report was put on the table in 2020, in which they drew attention to the fact that the project engineers did not examine the local geological and hydrographic features at several construction sites, and as a result environmental damage and rockslides occurred. However, the expert group could not agree on everything: part of them considered that a road surface with a width of 10 meters is sufficient, while the other part considered that only a road surface with a width of 5.5 meters, the latter referring to the fact that in this way Reduce the risks associated with construction and less environmental damage can be expected. Here the army intervened and indicated that they needed the 10-meter road to maintain a proper defense system, and the court agreed. After that, the head of the expert group resigned because he saw that the council was unable to play its role in protecting the environment and because he believed that those in charge of the project would continue to ignore the experts’ recommendations.

In the project scheduled for 2022, due to particularly rainy weather, several landslides have already occurred, resulting in many deaths. Investigations also revealed that one of the project members is estimated at approx. On a 250-kilometre-long renovated and widened section of road, the chance of landslides and collapses has doubled due to environmental transformation. It becomes easier to understand then Look around on the map, at street viewand we notice how the roads have been cut into the sides of the steep cliff walls – and these roads can only be widened by further breaking of the rock.

The collapse of the 4.5-kilometre-long Sizilkjara Tunnel did not come as a surprise to experts. The tunnel is truly a textbook example of how and where a tunnel should not be built. The initial geological report stated that there were very unstable rock layers in the area, but this was completely ignored during construction. The government appointed a five-member committee to investigate the tunnel collapse from a safety perspective and report the findings to the ministry. Nearly three-quarters of the Tsar Dam road project is ready, and experts also doubt whether any modifications can be made during further construction work. The collapse of the tunnel has drawn the attention of many to the situation, but the only thing that can be concluded from this is that the pilgrims’ journey will not be safer, and the army will not get the roads it needs in the area leading to the tunnel. Himalayas.