Government mulls setting up dedicated cell to manage tunnel disaster

NEW DELHI: The delay in the rescue of 41 workers trapped inside the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi has triggered the need for setting up of a dedicated cell to manage any disaster in future. Initial discussions have started on this and the government may expedite this considering that different agencies have built and are also building a large number of tunnels across the country, officials said.
Besides railways, highway ministry and other road construction wings of state governments, underground Metro Rail tracks are being built.Though there is no official compilation of the total length of road, rail and Metro Rail tunnels in the country, sources said that over 500 km of tunnels are in operation. The railways, road transport and highways ministry and its agencies are also constructing tunnels across the country, particularly in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and the north east.
“The recent crisis has signalled why we must have a dedicated cell for managing any mishap in tunnels that are operational or under construction. The cell can have experts from road, rail and Metro Rail sector to prepare the SoPs and action plan for quick rescue in case of a mishap. Now we need it more since we are building more tunnels in hill states to cut down the travel time and avoid mishaps such as avalanche and landslides,” said an insider from the construction industry.
Globally, several countries have dedicated agencies or academies for tunnelling. For example, the United Kingdom has Tunnelling and Underground Construction Academy, Austria has Zentrum am Berg Laboratory and Switzerland has The Herbach Test Gallery.
Recently, the government had set up an inter-ministerial panel for coordinated planning of road and rail tunnels and also to suggest how to bring down the cost of such projects.