Worker Killed as Part of Silkyara-Barkot Tunnel Collapses in Uttarakhand, 41 People Were Trapped in 2023
New Delhi: A portion of the concrete lining inside the Silkyara-Barkot tunnel in Uttarakhand collapsed on early Thursday (July 16), killing a 21-year-old worker.
According to the district administration, as construction was ongoing, a block from the tunnel’s concrete lining collapsed around 900 metres inside the Silkyara tunnel from the Barkot side which resulted in the death of the worker, who was from Jharkhand, reported Indian Express.
“Around 2 am on Thursday, a concrete slab fell on the neck of a worker from Jharkhand, who was moving through the tunnel. He was taken to Naugaon Hospital and died during treatment. We have instructed the SDM to initiate the processes for compensation for the bereaved family,” said Uttarkashi district magistrate Prashant Arya.
Arya has directed the sub-divisional magistrate (SDM), Barkot, to conduct an assessment of the situation, ascertain the actual cause of the accident, and thoroughly examine whether the executing agency had complied with the prescribed safety standards.
A detailed investigation into the incident has also been ordered by the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (NHIDCL), which is the implementing agency of the project.
Tunnel prone to accidents
The tunnel is not unfamiliar to such incidents.
On November 12, 2023, when one of the under-construction sections of the Silkyara-Barkot tunnel had collapsed, 41 workers were trapped. They were rescued on November 28 after several attempts by regional, national, and international agencies, and individuals, especially “rat-hole” miners.
The 4.53-kilometre-long tunnel being constructed between Silkyara and Barkot is a part of the larger Char Dham Pariyojana, or project.
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways’ (MoRTH) Char Dham project involves widening of 825 kilometres of national highways in Uttarakhand.
The Wire had earlier reported that a study of committee reports, complaints against the project, submissions in the Supreme Court, and various court orders, reveal a lack of transparency from MoRTH and other involved agencies. The division of the project into 53 smaller parts to evade environmental impact assessment (EIA), the illegalities committed with respect to tree-felling and muck disposal, and the unscientific hill-cutting that resulted in several landslides and deaths over the past years have all made news.
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